Archived: Knebworth Care Home

Updated 7 March 2017

We undertook an unannounced focused inspection of Knebworth Care Home on 7 February 2017. This inspection was done to check that improvements to meet legal requirements planned by the provider after our comprehensive inspection on 15 November 2016 had been made. The team inspected the service against two of the five questions we ask about services: is the service safe and is the service well led. This is because the service was not meeting some legal requirements.

Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including statutory notifications. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us. We also reviewed the action plan that they sent us outlining how they would make the necessary improvements.

The inspection was unannounced and carried out by two inspectors.

During the inspection we spoke with four people who used the service, one relative, four staff members, the regional manager and the manager. We received information from service commissioners and health and social care professionals. We viewed information relating to four people’s care and support. We also reviewed records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 7 March 2017

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 15 November 2016. A breach of legal requirements was found. After the comprehensive inspection, the provider wrote to us to say what they would do to meet legal requirements in relation to the management of medicines

We undertook this focused inspection to check that the provider had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Knebworth Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

This inspection was carried out on 7 February 2017 and was unannounced. At this inspection we found that they were meeting all the standards we reviewed.

Knebworth Care Home provides accommodation for up to 71 older people, including people living with dementia and with nursing needs. At the time of the inspection there were 38 people living there. This was because at a previous inspection we had restricted admissions to the service. However, following this inspection we found that the provider had made the necessary improvements and the conditions were removed.

The service had a manager who was not yet registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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. The manager was awaiting some updates to documentation before they were able to submit their registered manager’s application.

People received their medicines safely and there were systems in place to robustly monitor this.

Risks to people’s welfare were assessed and managed. People were supported by staff who knew how to recognise and report abuse.

There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs and these were recruited safely.

The manager had not yet registered with the Care Quality Commission, however, this application was pending. There was positive feedback about the manager and the way the service was running from people and staff. The quality assurance systems in place were being used effectively.