Care home warned to improve or risk being shut down

A CARE home for people with learning disabilities and mental health needs has been told to make rapid improvements or face the risk of being shut down.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited Harlington House, Fulford, York, twice in February to check how it was managing Covid infection control but widened the scope after becoming aware of other concerns.

Inspectors found that the service, which can care for up to 17 people, was not safe or well-led and gave the home a rating of inadequate, meaning Harlington House is now under special measures.

The home has not had a registered manager since September 2020, despite this being a requirement for CQC registration, but a recruitment process is under way.

Despite there being a Covid outbreak at the time of the inspections, visitors’ Covid test status, temperature and potential symptoms were not always checked on entry, and there were no records kept of visitors’ information.

An inspector also walked into the home with ease as the front door mechanism was broken, “giving access to people’s bedrooms and not adequately ensuring people who were at risk of leaving the home alone were safe”.

Managers ensured that problems identified at the inspection were risk-assessed and discussed.

According to the report, the home “failed to ensure there were sufficient numbers of suitably trained staff ”, with one staff member telling inspectors there were not enough staff on shift for all residents to get one-to-one care.

But staff did say that they felt supported and liked working at the service and the team had good knowledge of policies, including safeguarding.

Milewood Healthcare, which runs the home, has been contacted for comment.