Kirkwood Hall

Kirkwood Hall Extra Care Housing is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats to predominantly older people.

This service provides care and support to people living in specialist 'extra care' housing. Extra care housing is purpose-built or adapted single household accommodation in a shared site or building. The accommodation is rented, and is the occupant's own home. People's care and housing are provided under separate contractual agreements. CQC does not regulate premises used for extra care housing; this inspection looked at people's personal care and support service.

People using the service at Kirkwood Hall Extra Care Housing lived in apartments. The facility also had apartments and bungalows that were situated in the grounds. There are two rooms reserved for people from the community who need additional support following discharge from hospital or to prevent them from being admitted to hospital. These are known as step up / step down beds. Health professional's work alongside staff to ensure people who require this level of support have their needs met. Kirkwood Hall Extra Care Housing has a restaurant, hairdressing salon, communal areas and a garden.

Not everyone using the service receives regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People's needs were assessed and their care was planned to maintain their safety, health and wellbeing. Risks assessments were completed. We have made a recommendation the provider source and use evidence based assessment tools to understand risk and to implement control measures. People told us they felt safe and staff received training in how to recognise and report abuse.

Staff were recruited safely and they received support and supervision to enable them to effectively carry out their roles.

People were supported to eat and drink a healthy diet and staff understood people's dietary needs and preferences. Staff liaised with health and social care professionals to ensure people received the care and treatment they needed.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). They obtained consent before providing support and respected people's choices. We have made a recommendation about the provider reviewing their MCA training to ensure staff understand who has legal authority to represent people who lack capacity.

Staff were aware of people's preferences and interests and treated people with dignity and respect and promoted their independence. Person-centred care and support was provided by staff who demonstrated knowledge of people's individual needs. People received care from staff that were caring and kind.

Care plans were reviewed regularly and any changes to the care plans were updated. The provider had a system in place for responding to people's concerns and complaints. People knew how to make a complaint and were confident any concerns or complaints would be listened to.

People were asked for their views on the service and there were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found