Reinspected care home still rated as inadequate
IMPROVEMENTS
A CARE home remains in special measures after managers failed to improve sufficiently to overturn a rating of inadequate.
Kingswood Lodge Residential Care Home, in Wigston, was found to be unsafe and poorly led following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in December.
A routine reinspection, in March this year, found not enough improvements had been made.
Inspectors found the home was “visibly unclean” and was poorly maintained in some areas, including a ground-floor shower room which had a rusty frame around the toilet, missing plaster on the wall and a rusty radiator, making it difficult to effectively clean.
A carpet in one of the lounges was ripped, worn and stained and equipment was also dirty and poorly maintained.
Medicines were not handled appropriately, while care plans and risk assessments were not updated after accidents and injuries, which meant staff did not know how best to keep people safe.
The report said staff were not sufficiently trained.
The report said: “The provider and registered manager had failed to continuously learn and improve care.
“Many of the issues we found at this inspection were present at our last inspection and the provider and registered manager remained in breach of our regulations.”
Some improvements had been made to help prevent and control infection, and staffing levels had improved, although there were still gaps in training.
However, staff were found to be kind and caring towards residents. A relative told the inspector the staff were “lovely” and worked “as a team”.
A care worker told the inspector: “This is a lovely place to work, with a great atmosphere.”
Owner David Barnacle said: “Our record of 30 good years, plus two years of Covid-19 with no Covid-related residents’ serious illness or deaths has been completely ignored.
“However, the inspection report did make it clear that during those two years of Covid, as a result of our strict concentration on safety from the disease, some areas of maintenance, refurbishment and documentation were neglected, although, much had already been attended to before publication of the report and a list of works completed with photographic evidence given to the CQC. We continue to make improvements.”
INSPECTORS FIND INSUFFICIENT
MADE, INCLUDING FOR SAFETY