Kenilworth Grange Care Home

This service provider was registered with us on 21 October 2024, and this is their first assessment.

The home is registered for up to 60 people. Some of the beds within the service were commissioned for the ‘Discharge to Assess’ (D2A) scheme. This is when people are fit to be discharged from hospital but need further monitoring and support before making decisions about their future care. People typically stayed in D2A beds for up to 6 weeks and staff worked closely with the hospital team, GPs and other healthcare professionals to manage people’s care.

As part of our inspection, we spoke with people who lived in the home, their relatives, staff, the registered manager and the provider’s operations support manager. We sought feedback from healthcare professionals, reviewed care plans, medication records, recruitment files and quality assurance records.

There had been a recent change of leadership prior to our inspection. The long standing deputy manager had been promoted to registered manager and been registered with us. A new deputy manager had been appointed.

During our inspection we identified occasions where staff interactions were task focused and people did not always feel acknowledged or listened to. Some people and relatives told us staff did not always engage with them during day to day care, and this affected how valued and respected they felt. Records also showed gaps in monitoring for some people which meant opportunities to support wellbeing in a person‑centred way were sometimes missed. Concerns were not always recorded, and this limited the provider’s opportunity to monitor trends and drive improvements in the home.

Despite these shortfalls, people told us they felt safe living at Kenilworth Grange. Staff understood how to protect people from the risk of abuse, and safeguarding concerns were reported appropriately.

The environment was clean and well maintained, and risks associated with people’s health needs were assessed and managed. Medicines were administered safely by trained and competent staff. Staff were recruited safely and were supported through their induction. Staff received training to enable them to carry out their work safely.

Care plans contained detailed information about people’s clinical and health needs, as well as their history, choices and preferences. Care plans were completed timely and reviewed regularly. Mental capacity assessments were decision specific and evidenced how people and their representatives had been involved in decision making processes. Staff followed recognised guidelines to ensure people had the right consistency of food and drink which reduced their risk of choking.

Healthcare professionals gave us mostly positive feedback and told us of systems that had been developed in the home to share information and improve outcomes for people. The provider worked closely with external professionals, including those that supported the safe transition for people in the D2A beds.

Leadership was visible and supportive. Although there had been recent changes in management, staff described the registered manager as approachable and committed to improvement. Governance processes supported oversight of most aspects of the service, and audits had driven improvements in several areas. However, some quality monitoring needed further strengthening to improve shortfalls identified during this inspection, including gaps in monitoring and inconsistencies in how people were listened to and involved in their care.