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CQC report explained · a residential care home

What the CQC found at Kilmar House

Goodpublished 13 February 2025, 19 months ago

Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, June 2018

Kilmar House was rated Good overall, with Outstanding caring and inspectors finding kind, personalised support.

This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 17 May 2018. Inspectors spoke with seven people, three relatives and a healthcare professional. They also spoke with managers and care staff, observed care, looked around the home and checked care plans, medicines, recruitment, training and other records.

The home was rated Good for safe, effective, responsive and well-led care. Caring improved from Good to Outstanding. Inspectors found a stable and skilled staff team, personalised care plans, safe medicines arrangements and enough staff to respond promptly.

People were supported to make their own choices and keep their independence. Inspectors saw kind and respectful relationships, activities shaped by people's interests, and support to stay in touch with family and continue important religious and community activities.

The overall Good rating means the home met the relevant standards at this inspection and inspectors found no serious risks or concerns. A recent external audit had identified some recommendations about medicines records, fire checks and staff GDPR training, but the report says these had been actioned.

What inspectors praised
  • Kind and compassionate care

    Caring was the only area rated Outstanding. Inspectors saw patient, discreet support and strong relationships that promoted people's wellbeing.

    “Staff had developed exceptionally positive, kind, and compassionate relationships with people.” from the report
  • Choice and independence

    People chose where to spend their time, when to get up and go to bed, and whether to join activities. Staff asked rather than told people what to do.

    “People's rights and choices were promoted and respected.” from the report
  • Personalised support

    Care plans recorded people's needs and wishes, and people were involved in planning and reviewing their care. Staff knew people's backgrounds and interests.

    “People's care plans contained personalised information about their individual needs and wishes and people were involved in the planning and reviewing of their care.” from the report
  • Enough trained staff

    Inspectors found sufficient suitably qualified staff and saw that call bells were answered quickly. Staff received induction, training, supervision and appraisals.

    “There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff on duty to meet people's needs in a timely manner.” from the report
  • Activities and connections

    People helped shape the activity programme. The home supported outings, family contact, religious meetings and visits from a local pre-school.

    “An activity took place every morning and afternoon seven days a week.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Audit recommendations

    minor

    An external audit identified improvements needed in medicines recording, fire check recording and GDPR training. The report says all these recommendations had been actioned, but families may wish to check how they are monitored now.

    “There were a small number of recommendations from this audit about improvements to medicines recording, fire check recording and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) training for staff.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How do you make sure medicines records remain complete and accurate?
  2. 02How are fire checks recorded and reviewed now?
  3. 03How do you make sure care plans are reviewed when a person's needs or wishes change?
  4. 04What activities and outings are available, and how are people involved in choosing them?
  5. 05How do you support residents to keep in touch with family, community groups or religious organisations?

This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering the premises and care provided, with all five key questions assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 16 June 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.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Kilmar House

2 rated inspections over 2 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.

  1. June 2018Goodcurrent ratingstayed Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: OutstandingResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Kilmar House →

  2. March 2016Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    We are reading this report · the original is on cqc.org.uk

  3. December 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. November 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. February 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  6. February 2012

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  7. December 2010

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 10 December 2010.

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.

Next steps

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Most charge £980 to £1,200 a week. 8 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.

“He had been a little anxious before she arrived, but has since stated that he would be very happy for her to care for him again”
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