‘Do better’ rating disappoints home
ACARE home manager has expressed disappointment after receiving a ‘requires improvement’ rating from inspectors.
The Care Quality Commission has given Danesmoor Residential Home in Haslingden the grade for the third time in a row, following previous visits in May 2018 and June 2017.
Inspectors visited the Helmshore Road home in April and their report, published on May 31, found the service was not always safe, effective, responsive or well-led, so it was rated ‘requires improvement’ in all four of these areas, although it received a ‘good’ rating for care.
Newly appointed home manager Sean Nuttall said they have taken on board the findings and taken action.
Inspectors said residents felt safe at the home and staff were caring, adding that carers were mostly available when residents needed assistance, however there were no formal on call arrangements during the night and staff had extra duties such as managing the laundry and organising tea.
The report said that there was an ‘effective recruitment procedure’ at the home, so only suitable staff were employed.
The requirements of a warning notice about medicine management, issued after the last inspection, had been met, and all areas of the home were clean, inspectors said.
However they stated that ‘ the electronic care planning system did not always allow for specific information to be added about individual needs’ and there were ‘further limitations with the system in respect of people’s care plans’, although the manager said additional training had been arranged to resolve this.
Inspectors praised the fact that residents were supported to have maximum choice and control ●● Danesmoor Residential Home received a ‘needs improvement’ rating of their lives, however they said that systems and documentation didn’t always support this.
The manager sent the CQC an action plan to address these issues following the inspection.
Inspectors recognised that ‘staff treated people with kindness, dignity and respect and spent time getting to know them and their specific needs and wishes’.
“Our observations during the inspection were of positive and warm interactions between staff and people who lived in the home,” they added.
“Although we identified a number of areas which required improvement, the manager was aware of the shortfalls and was committed to the ongoing development of the service.
The CQC will now meet with the manager to discuss changes to be made, and will work with the local authority to monitor progress, before returning to reinspect the home.
Manager Mr Nuttall said he had only been in post for six weeks when CQC arrived for the inspection.
He added: “To say I felt a little disappointed that we received the outcome we have would be an understatement.
“I will be using this report as a benchmark to improve the CQC outcomes. We are very proud of what we have achieved in such a small time frame and will continue to grow towards all good or outstanding on our next inspection.
“We have very good feedback from the residents and their families when we conducted surveys and our activities are on the increase to enrich residents’ stay at Danesmoor.”