Troubled care home branded inadequate once again
A STOCKPORT care home has been slammed by a government watchdog as ‘inadequate’ for the second time.
Newlands Nursing & Residential Home in Heaton Moor was inspected by the Care Quality Commission in February and the report was published last week.
The visit was a follow-up to an inspection in August last year which gave the home an overall rating of inadequate and placed it in special measures.
The most recent inspection found ‘on-going and multiple breaches of the regulations in regard to safe care and treatment, staffing, supervision, governance, premises and equipment, person-centred care and safeguarding’.
Inspectors reported concerns in relation to the safe management of medicine, with evidence of people having missed a dose or even been given another person’s medicine.
ASTOCKPORT care home has been slammed by a government watchdog which branded it ‘inadequate.’
Newlands Nursing & Residential Home in Heaton Moor was inspected by the Care Quality Commission in February this year and the subsequent report was published last week.
The visit was a follow-up to an inspection carried out in August last year which gave the home an overall rating of inadequate and placed it in special measures.
The most recent inspection found ‘on-going and multiple breaches of the regulations in regard to safe care and treatment, staffing, supervision, governance, premises and equipment, person centred care and safeguarding.’
The report states: “The provider had recognised many of the issues we found during the inspection but had not taken effective action to ensure they were resolved.”
At the time of the inspection the home had no registered manager in post, with two acting managers having left in the six months since the previous visit.
Inspectors reported concerns in relation to the safe management of medicine, with evidence of people having missed a dose or even been given another person’s prescribed medicine.
They found that staff were not always aware of or working to residents’ care plans and there was a lack of planned activities or meaningful stimulation in place, leaving people bored and isolated.
The report states that inspectors received ‘mixed reports’ from relatives and residents at Newlands as to whether staff were caring towards them.
“This was also reflective of our observations during the inspection where we observed both very positive, caring interactions and less caring approaches, such as not acknowledging a person’s request to use the toilet,” it adds.
It does also record some positives, such as positive feedback about the food on offer at the home and inspectors say complaints were effectively monitored, investigated and responded to.
A spokesman for HCOne, which runs the home, said they were ‘deeply disappointed’ by the outcome of the inspection and ‘have been working tirelessly to address all of the issues raised.’
They said: “Nothing is more important to us than the health, safety and wellbeing of each person we support.
“A robust and detailed action plan is in place and the home is being fully supported by our senior management team. We are pleased with the progress being made and the feedback we are receiving about the improvements in the home from our external partners.
“We continue to work closely with the CQC, local authority and local healthcare professionals to make sure we are delivering good quality care and support.”
The home remains in special measures and will be monitored by the CQC, which could take action to prevent it from operating if sufficient progress is not made.