Care home residents ‘at risk’
HEALTH inspectors found ‘limited assurances about safety’ at a home providing care for adults with a range of needs, including people living with dementia and people with mental health support needs.
Russley Lodge in Whalley Range, which has facilities to care for up to 17 people, was given a ‘requires improvement’ rating in a CQC inspection carried out in January.
“At the last inspection this key question was rated as requires improvement,” the report stated. “At this inspection this key question has remained the same. This meant some aspects of the service were not always safe and there was limited assurance about safety.
There was an increased risk that people could be harmed.”
CQC inspectors found that safeguarding systems had not always been appropriately followed, while some aspects of the building were also deemed to be ‘potentially unsafe.’
Despite recommendations being made during the last review, inspectors ‘continued to not be satisfied the provider was proactive at identifying potential risks’ within the care home.
“We found a low banister rail on the first floor posed as a risk of falls and two windows where there was a risk of falling from height were missing restrictors to prevent the window opening too far,” the report read.
However, inspectors acknowledged that, ten days after the inspection, safety improvements had been made to the banister and the issue had been rectified. “We found no evidence that people had been harmed,” the report added.
“However, people were not protected by effective systems and processes to keep them free from the risk of abuse.”
B&R Care Ltd, the residential care company that operates Russley Lodge, told the M.E.N that it had a number of concerns regarding the inspection.
A spokesperson for the care company said: “The very cleverly designed ‘factual accuracy’ the CQC use means that providers have very little scope to disagree with anything the CQC write. “At no time were any residents at risk. “Anyone has the right to report us to the CQC and Safeguarding and both agencies are duty bound to investigate. More often than not proving the claims are unsubstantiated.”
CQC said it will continue to monitor the service closely and to liaise with the local authority and CCG.