This unannounced inspection took place on 10 July 2018.

Knights Court Nursing Home provides accommodation and nursing care for up to 80 older people, some of whom may also have dementia. There were 73 people living in the home when we visited.

The home was previously owned by another organisation but was taken over by MMCG (2) Limited. The home was registered with the CQC in July 2017. This inspection on 10 July 2018 was the first inspection for the service under new management.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Some people in the home had complex needs and were therefore unable to provide us with feedback. We therefore spent time observing interaction between people and staff. On the day of our inspection we observed people were well cared for and appeared relaxed and comfortable in the presence of staff. We observed positive engagement between staff and people. Staff were respectful to people and showed a good understanding of each person’s needs and abilities.

The majority of people we spoke with told us they felt safe in the home and around staff and this was confirmed by relatives we spoke with. There were systems in place to keep people safe. Staff had received training on how to identify abuse and understood their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding people, including reporting concerns relating to people’s safety and well-being.

Risks to people had been assessed, updated and regularly reviewed to ensure people were safe and risks to people in relation to treatment or care were minimised. We also looked at how the skin integrity of people was managed at the home and found that appropriate documentation was in place and the home took necessary action involving relevant parties.

Medicines were managed safely and staff were appropriately trained. However, we found that the home needed to improve record keeping in relation to topical creams applied by staff and we made a recommendation in respect of this.

The majority of people and relatives we spoke with told us that they did not think there were sufficient staffing levels. However, the majority of staff we spoke with told us there were sufficient numbers of staff to safely meet people’s individual care needs. We discussed staffing levels with management in detail and they informed us that there were sufficient numbers of staff and confirmed that they assessed this using their dependency tool. They also advised us of the improvements they had made and were in the process of making in relation to staffing.

On the day of our inspection, we found the home was clean. There was an infection control policy and measures were in place for infection prevention and control. However, on the day of the inspection, we observed that two soiled catheter bags had been left in one person’s room. We immediately raised this with a care worker who took appropriate action. We also discussed this incident with the quality and compliance manager who advised that she would carry out an immediate investigation. After the inspection, the manager sent us their investigation report which set out the action the home had taken as well as steps taken to ensure such an incident did not occur again which included further staff training and management checks.

People’s needs were regularly assessed to ensure the home was able to provide treatment and care appropriate to people’s individual needs. Staff received ongoing training and spoke positively about the training they received. Regular planned supervisions and appraisals ensured staff performance was monitored. All staff we spoke with told us they were