About the service:

Kingswood Home is registered to provide care and support for up to 23 people who may live with a dementia type illness or an acquired brain injury. The service provided support for both younger and older people. People required a range of help and support in relation to their care needs, which included diabetes and post stroke. There were 19 people living at the home at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

• People, relatives and other stakeholders told us the quality of care and support was good. People told us, “I was a dairy farmer so I know about safety-I had 150 cows-I am safe here-they have locks on all the doors and they look after me well.” and “Couldn’t be cared for better, I’m safe here.” A health professional told us, “I have no concerns about people’s well-being.”

• Whilst the provider had quality assurance systems to review the support and care provided, there was a need to further embed and develop some areas of practice that the existing quality assurance systems had missed. This included ensuring that care plans and risk assessments were updated to reflect important changes to a person’s health and that the cleaning and medicine management were regularly audited. The provider did not have an overview of staff training and staff had not received a robust induction or skill competency checks.

• There were safeguarding systems and processes that protected people from harm. Staff knew the signs of abuse and what to do if they suspected it. One staff member said, “I have received training in safeguarding, I wouldn’t hesitate to raise a safeguarding if our residents were at risk.” Another staff member said, “I would raise it straight away.”

• There were sufficient staff to meet people’s individual needs: all of whom had passed recruitment procedures that ensured they were suitable for the role.

• There were systems to monitor people's safety and promote their health and wellbeing, these included health and social risk assessments and care plans. The provider ensured that when things went wrong, these incidents and accidents were recorded and lessons were learned.

• Medicines were managed safely. Medicine documentation and relevant policies followed best practice guidelines to ensure people received their medicines safely.

• Staff told us they received appropriate training and support to enable them to perform their roles effectively. People told us, “Staff know their stuff, look after me really well,” and, “They are really well trained, I have to have help to get up and they do it so nicely.”

• People’s nutritional needs were monitored and reviewed. People had a choice of meals and staff knew people’s likes and dislikes. People gave positive feedback about the food. Comments included, “Plenty of choice and always tasty,” and, “Homemade meals and cakes, I’ve put on weight since I have lived here.”

• The environment was comfortable and was adapted to meet people's needs. One person said, “It’s so beautiful here, warm, cosy and friendly.”

• People and relatives told us staff were ‘kind’ and ‘caring’. They could express their views about the service and provide feedback. One person said, “A fantastic group of staff, everyone is wonderful, its calm and we can have a laugh.”

• People's care was personalised to their individual needs. There was sufficient detail in people's care documentation that enabled staff to provide responsive care.

• The service provided a variety of activities in line with people's interests, such as quizzes and sing- songs and encouraged people's involvement. People, relatives and social care professionals told us staff engagement and interaction had a positive effect on people's quality of life. People told us they had been involved in choosing activities they enjoyed on a day to day basis.

• Management and staff demonstrated a good understanding of and response to people's diverse needs.

• People and staff told us the registered manage

We inspected Kingswood Home on the 1 November 2016. Kingswood Home is a care home registered to provide support for older people who may have dementia and require personal care. The service is registered to support a maximum of 23 people. The service is located in Worthing, West Sussex in a residential area. There were 21 people living at the service on the day of our inspection. Kingswood Home was last inspected in May 2014 and no concerns were identified.

A registered manager was in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People were happy and relaxed with staff. They said they felt safe and there were sufficient staff to support them. One person told us, “I feel safe here”. Another said, “I think there are enough staff here, there are two shifts”. When staff were recruited, their employment history was checked and references obtained. Checks were also undertaken to ensure new staff were safe to work within the care sector. Staff were knowledgeable and trained in safeguarding adults and what action they should take if they suspected abuse was taking place.

Medicines were managed safely and in accordance with current regulations and guidance. There were systems in place to ensure that medicines had been stored, administered, audited and reviewed appropriately.

People were being supported to make decisions in their best interests. The registered manager and staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Accidents and incidents were recorded appropriately and steps taken to minimise the risk of similar events happening in the future. Risks associated with the environment and equipment had been identified and managed. Emergency procedures were in place in the event of fire and people knew what to do, as did the staff.

Staff had received essential training and there were opportunities for additional training specific to the needs of the service, including caring for people with dementia, and stoma care (a stoma is an opening on the front of the abdomen which is made using surgery. It diverts faeces or urine into a pouch on the outside of the body). Staff had received both one to one and group supervision meetings with their manager, and formal personal development plans, such as annual appraisals were in place. One member of staff told us, “Whatever training is available is sent to me. Training is definitely promoted, it’s good”.

People were encouraged and supported to eat and drink well. There was a varied daily choice of meals and people were able to give feedback and have choice in what they ate and drank. One person told us, “The food is good”. Special dietary requirements were met, and people’s weight was monitored, with their permission. Health care was accessible for people and appointments were made for regular check-ups as needed.

People chose how to spend their day and they took part in activities in the service and the community. People told us they enjoyed the activities, which included singing, films, beauty treatments and themed events, such as reminiscence sessions. One person told us, “All activities are organised for us”. People were also encouraged to stay in touch with their families and receive visitors.

People felt well looked after and supported. We observed friendly and genuine relationships had developed between people and staff. One person told us, “The staff are very nice and kind”. Care plans described people’s needs and preferences and they were encouraged to be as independent as possible.

People were encouraged to express their views and had completed surveys. Feedback received showed people were satisfied overall, and felt staff we

Kingswood Home can accommodate up to 23 older people with dementia care needs. There were 19 people who used the service at the time of our inspection.

One inspector carried out this inspection.

We considered our inspection findings to answer the questions we always ask; Is the service caring? Is the service responsive? Is the service safe? Is the service effective? Is the service well-led?

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary is based on our observations during the inspection, speaking with three people who used the service and two relatives who were visiting people, three of the four staff who were on duty and from looking at records.

If you want to see the evidence supporting our summary, please read the full report.

Is the service safe?

People were treated with respect and dignity by the staff. One person told us, “I’ve nothing to complain about, all of them (staff) are very nice."

We saw people's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned in a way that was intended to ensure people's safety and welfare. Care records contained information on people's needs and clear instructions for staff on how to meet them. We saw that potential risks to people were appropriately assessed and planned for.

We found staff were knowledgeable about people's needs and were respectful of people's dignity. Staff provided care and treatment in a way that was intended to ensure people’s safety and welfare.

We found that people were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs. People were protected from the risks of inadequate nutrition and dehydration.

We saw that the property was clean and well maintained and that improvements to the property had been carried out. There was appropriate equipment and items available such as hand wash and disposable aprons to ensure people were cared for in a clean hygienic environment. People were protected from the risk of infection.

CQC monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards which applies to care homes. We were told that no applications had needed to be submitted. The manager and staff demonstrated their knowledge of their responsibilities in respect of this.

Is the service effective?

People told us that they were happy with the care and support provided. One person told us, "Very good, it’s better than I’ve ever had before."

It was clear from our observations and from speaking to staff, that they had a good understanding of people's care and support needs and they knew them well. Care plans contained clear instructions for staff on a person’s needs and how to meet them. Staff signed to confirm that they had read the care plan, would follow it and adhere to best practice.

Is the service caring?

People were supported by kind and caring staff. We saw that people were treated with respect and dignity and that staff were warm and friendly. We observed that staff were patient and did not rush people when they were supporting them with walking and assisting them at lunch. Staff repeated instructions or questions and checked they were understood. Relatives told us how they observed staff were patient when responding to people’s needs. They told us the staff, “Are lovely, they always know people’s names. They are always smiling and say hello."

Is the service responsive?

We saw that the provider had introduced residents meetings and were shown the minutes of these. We noted that the provider had employed an activities coordinator in response to feedback from staff. One person told us how they had been able to change rooms to the ground floor after finding it difficult to use the stairs and as they did not like to use the lift.

People and relatives told us they found the provider approachable and gave us examples of changes they had requested and that had been carried out.

We found that the service had a quality assurance system and that issues were highlighted and addressed to ensure people were supported within a safe service.

We spoke with three people who used the service and two relatives. People told us they were happy with the care and support provided by Kingswood Home. People spoke highly of the staff, describing them as "Very kind," "Lovely" and "Nice." One person said, "We're all happy together." One relative said the home operated to a "Pretty high standard."

We found that people were asked for their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes. People's care and support was planned and implemented in line with their needs and preferences. People and relatives told us that the staff spoke to them about their care and asked for their permission to be supported.

People told us they felt safe living at Kingswood Home and felt comfortable to raise any concerns with staff. People were protected from the risk of abuse or neglect because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify risks and prevent abuse from happening.

We found that people were cared for by staff who were suitably qualified. Staff had received appropriate training and support in their roles. We spoke with four members of staff who told us they were happy with the training and support they had received.

We saw that the provider used various methods to assess and monitor the quality of service that people received. The provider also had plans for future quality monitoring of the home.

We spoke with three people living in the home and four relatives. People told us they were satisfied with the quality of care provided and with the staff who supported them. People said of the home, "it's quite pleasant." People said "staff are very nice." People complimented the quality of food. One person commented, "I look forward to a very nice evening meal."

People's relatives were also happy with the quality of care and with the staff. One relative said, "since day one it's been lovely." They continued by saying their family member was "a lot happier here . . . has a better quality of life." Another relative commented, "we know [our family member] is safe here." A further family said "staff are absolutely lovely, brilliant."

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We observed that people had several positive interactions with staff members which showed people warmth, respect, and inclusion.

We found that people were treated with dignity and respect. People's care was planned and delivered in line with their needs and choices. People's safety and well-being were protected. We found there were sufficient staff to support people safely. Staff were experienced and trained to a good standard.