CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Kanner Project
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found that risks were assessed and managed, staffing levels met people's needs, and medicines were stored, recorded and given safely. Incidents were recorded and reviewed to reduce the chance of them happening again.
- Effective?
- Good
- Care was based on people's individual needs and staff worked with health and social care professionals. Staff received relevant training and regular support, although the home was still developing how it monitored people's goals and wishes.
- Caring?
- Good
- People appeared comfortable and at ease with staff. Relatives and professionals said people were treated with kindness, compassion and respect, and staff supported communication, privacy and independence.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care plans contained detailed information about people's routines, preferences and communication needs. Inspectors found limited information about some people's social needs, future goals and aspirations, and how these would be achieved.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home had a more positive culture, stable leadership and better systems for checking quality and safety. Staff said morale and management support had improved significantly since the previous inspection.
What inspectors found, March 2019
Kanner Project: Rated Good; inspectors found safe, caring support and major improvement since the previous inspection.
Inspectors visited on 7 and 11 March 2019. The first visit was unannounced. They reviewed four care records, accidents and incidents, medicines, complaints, quality checks and the home. They also observed care and spoke with staff, a relative, managers and other professionals.
All five areas were rated Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found people were treated with kindness and respect. Staff knew people well, understood their communication needs and supported them to make choices. Medicines, staffing and risk management were also found to be safe.
The home had improved from Requires Improvement at the previous inspection, published in August 2018. The environment, incident monitoring, care planning, staff support and management had improved. Inspectors still identified some further work, particularly around recording people's longer-term goals and developing end of life care arrangements.
Kind and respectful care
People appeared comfortable and at ease with staff. Relatives and professionals described the care as kind, compassionate and respectful.
“People using the service benefitted from caring, dedicated staff.” from the report
Staff knew people well
Staff understood people's communication, routines, likes and dislikes. They used communication passports, picture cards and other guidance to support choice.
“Most people living at Kanner had limited verbal communication skills. Staff knew people well including their non-verbal sounds, behaviours and facial expressions that indicated how they were feeling.” from the report
Improved leadership
Inspectors found a stable and more positive culture, with better staff support, training, supervision and quality checks.
“At the previous inspection we were concerned about the mix of people at the service, the low staff morale and the lack of governance within the service. We found at this inspection there was great improvement.” from the report
Longer-term goals were not fully recorded
needs fixingCare plans focused more on day-to-day support than on people's future goals, social needs and aspirations. Staff had begun work on this during the inspection.
“However, there was limited information about people's social needs, future goals and aspirations and how the service would support people to meet these goals.” from the report
End of life planning was still developing
needs fixingThe manager recognised that more work was needed in this area because of people's health needs. Discussions had started with the local hospice.
“People living at Kanner were young. However, due to their health needs this was an area the registered manager recognised required developing.” from the report
- 01How will you record and review my relative's longer-term wishes, goals and social activities?
- 02What practical steps will you take to support activities my relative enjoys, such as swimming or going out?
- 03How are communication passports and picture-based choices used in my relative's daily care?
- 04What progress has been made with developing end of life care and working with the local hospice?
- 05How will you keep the improvements in staff support, incident monitoring and quality checks under review?
This was a planned inspection covering the care, premises and all five CQC questions, following the previous Requires Improvement rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 22 March 2019 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, August 2018
Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found better leadership and monitoring, but these changes had not yet been shown to last.
This was a focused inspection on 2 and 3 July 2018. The first day was unannounced and the second was announced. Inspectors checked whether the home had improved its systems for monitoring quality and meeting the rules on good governance.
Inspectors found improvements. A new manager and senior team were monitoring an improvement plan, audits were being introduced, and the home was working with the local authority improvement team. Staff said they felt better supported and communication had improved.
The rating for Well-led stayed at Requires Improvement. The systems were still being developed and embedded, so inspectors could not be sure they would continue to work over time. The home had previously breached Regulation 17 and had received a warning notice.
Closer quality monitoring
The provider had introduced a detailed improvement plan and new compliance checks. These were reviewed by managers and senior staff.
“A new compliance system was in place to monitor accidents, audits, complaints.” from the report
Better staff support
Staff told inspectors that leadership, communication and support had improved. Supervision, team meetings, a newsletter and counselling were in place.
“All staff we spoke with confirmed they felt listened to, empowered by the leadership team, communication was better and the manager was approachable.” from the report
Working with outside agencies
The manager and provider worked with the local authority improvement team and other professionals to improve the service.
“The manager was receptive to inspection feedback and worked collaboratively with external agencies to improve people's care.” from the report
Learning from incidents
The home had improved how it recorded and reviewed accidents and incidents. This had led to more support from the positive behaviour support team.
“The systems in place to record, monitor and analyse accidents and incidents within the service had improved.” from the report
Changes not yet proven to last
needs fixingThe new monitoring systems were still being developed and embedded. Inspectors could not yet be assured that they would continue to work or lead to lasting improvement.
“These systems were still being developed, reviewed and embedded therefore we could not be assured at this inspection they would be sustained or lead to improved services at this time.” from the report
Staffing levels
seriousOne staff member said that the staffing levels people required were not always followed. The manager was investigating this and recruitment was ongoing.
“They told us the staffing levels people required were not always adhered to.” from the report
- 01How do you check that each person's required staffing level is provided on every shift?
- 02What did the investigation into staffing levels find, and what action was taken?
- 03Which quality audits are now completed, who reviews them, and how do you make sure actions are completed?
- 04How will you show that the new governance systems continue to work over time?
- 05What is the timetable for the remaining kitchen and bedroom refurbishment?
This was a focused inspection of Well-led and good governance only; it did not reassess the other four questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 8 August 2018 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Kanner Project
4 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- March 2019Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2018Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- April 2018Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- November 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- February 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 14 January 2011.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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9 live-in carers within about an hour of Plymouth
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8 can care for a couple. 9 years' experience on average.
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