Care home is ordered to make rapid changes
ACARE home has been placed in special measures by the Care Quality Commission after inspectors raised safety concerns and branded care “inadequate”.
Northlands Care Home, run by Parkside Care in Morepth, Northumberland, has now been told to make “rapid and widespread” improvements. Inspectors’ concerns included that people living there had experienced “a number of falls” or “unexplained bruising” and that management was “ineffective”.
Northumberland County Council’s safeguarding team had already been working with the care home over “multiple issues” relating to care and safety.
The inspection team also cited cases where “staff weren’t always supporting people to drink enough”. In response, a Parkside spokesperson said improvements were already being made at the time of the December 2023 inspection, and management was working with staff on a comprehensive plan.
The firm said “good and effective” progress had been made since the inspection, and that numerous steps had been taken. A new head of quality and compliance has been hired.
During the inspection, the CQC team found a range of issues. Inspectors said these included that people were not always protected from risk, some areas of the home were not always well-observed and that quality monitoring was not consistent.
Other issues included audits which didn’t identify shortfalls in care or record-keeping problems.
More positively, the inspection team found that people living at Northlands felt there were enough staff and that they were involved in decisions about their care and treated well.
Also highlighted was the fact that Parkside had made changes and hired the new quality manager to address the issues raised.
Northlands is a care home offering support to those living with a physical disability or medical need and older people, including people who are living with dementia and its rating was previously ‘good’.
Parkside also runs homes in Gateshead and North Shields. The CQC’s inspection took place in response to concerns raised about safety at the home and staffing.
Linda Hirst, CQC deputy director of operations in the North, said: “When we inspected Northlands Care Home, we were disappointed to see a shortfall in strong leadership.
“We saw ineffective management structures meant the provider couldn’t monitor the quality of care provided or know where improvements were needed to support people safely. During our visit, we found people weren’t always safe from the risk of avoidable harm.
“At the time of the inspection, the service was in organisational safeguarding with the local authority as there were multiple concerns about people’s care and safety at the home.
“We found there had been a number of falls at the home or unexplained bruising which weren’t always identified or referred to the safeguarding team in a timely manner or being learned from to prevent future incidents.”
Ms Hirst also raised issues around hydration and feeding of people at the home and said the care provider had not always made sure staff had the skills they needed.
She said Parkside was working with the local authority to improve.
She added: “We have told Northlands Care Home where we expect to see rapid and widespread improvements and will continue to monitor them closely to keep people safe while this happens.
“We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to take action if people are not receiving the care they have a right to expect.”
In a statement, Parkside Care said: “We regret that Northlands Care Home has fallen below the standards that we and the Care Quality Commission expect.
“As noted in the report, we were in the process of making improvements at the time of the inspection in December and have recruited an experienced new head of quality and compliance.
“We have made good and effective progress over the last three months since the inspection and hope to return to a good rating as soon as possible.
“We would like to thank those residents and relatives who spoke to the CQC during the inspection for their kind words and support. The wellbeing and safety of our residents remains our first priority.”
A Northumberland County Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that the council is aware of the CQC report and the action they are taking. Our safeguarding, commissioning and care management teams will continue to work with the home and the CQC to resolve the issues.”