Council steps in to support care home after breaches
AN ACTION plan is underway to improve standards at a care home which is providing respite care for the council.
Weston Park Care Home was one of just two homes in Macclesfield to start providing respite care for Cheshire East Council after Hollins View care home shut. The closure was highly contentious and meant that the number of beds for respite care went down from 30 at Hollins View, to three.
Two of those beds are at Weston Park, on Moss Lane, but now there is concern for families after the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which oversees standards issued a damning inspection report. It says the home ‘requires improvement’ in all areas.
This has sparked an action plan to be implemented by a team of council officers and health bosses to raise standards.
Morven Sowerbutts, from the campaign group which fought against the closure of Hollins View, said: “The CQC’s findings are really worrying.
“Things are not working out as well as the council said they would.”
The CQC found five breaches of the relevant legislation concerning staffing, safeguarding, consent, good governance and nutrition and hydration.
The report concluded: “The provider had not made sufficient improvement to ensure people received a high standard of care that was consistently provided and kept people safe.”
A spokesman for Weston Park said they have addressed the inspector’s requirements and recommendations.
He said: “We regret that some aspects of the service fell below the standards that we expect all of our homes to provide, although no aspect was considered to be inadequate.
“The inspectors said that staffing levels needed to be increased to ensure there were sufficient staff to cover when there were absences.
“However, they acknowledged that the regional manager and home manager were already focused on this and were actively recruiting. We believe we have addressed the requirements and recommendations from the inspection.”
A council spokesman said Cheshire East is working with Weston Park to improve standards.
He said: “A joint action plan with NHS Eastern Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group (NHS ECCCG) is in place setting out areas for improvement. Regular visits by officers from the council and NHS ECCCG are continuing to ensure that actions are completed.
“Weston Park is continuing to engage well and improvements are being made.”