Care home for elderly rated ‘inadequate’ last year remains in special measures following latest inspection

A care home rated ‘inadequate’ last year after officials uncovered a catalogue of failings will remain in special measures.

Lyndhurst Residential Care Home, in Middleton, could be shut down if it fails to make ‘significant improvements’ within the next six months, a new inspection report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) says.

The home – run by Atlantis Medicare Limited – was put in special measures last August after inspectors found elderly residents were left waiting for help, not showered regularly and had their medicines ‘mixed up’.
 

Read more: Care home hit with warning notice after inspectors found elderly residents were left waiting for help, not showered regularly and had their medicines ‘mixed up’Published: 14 October 2022

When officials returned in February this year, they found some progress had been made – staffing levels and infection control practices had improved while people ‘felt safe’ and ‘were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives’.

However, the home – which provides accommodation and personal care for up to 42 people, including those living with dementia – was still in breach of a number of care regulations.

These included those related to medicines management, risk management and the requirement to send appropriate notifications to the CQC.

“The service had made some improvements in medicines management since the last inspection, however, we found medicines were not always managed safely,” a new report reads.

“Not enough improvement had been made at this inspection and the provider was still in breach of [care regulations].

Inspectors found ‘no evidence’ that people had been harmed’. But the report adds: “Medicines management was not always safe which put people at risk of harm.”

Officials also found that risks were not always being ‘appropriately identified and managed, while recruitment practices were ‘not safe’.

“Risk assessments were not in place around ongoing redecoration work in the home, which could lead to risk of harm to people being unmanaged,” the report states. However, it notes that the general manager started to implement them during the inspection.

The report continues: “Risks relating to people’s health were not being appropriately assessed. For example, one person’s care plans stated they were at risk of falls, but a falls risk assessment was not in place.”

This, the report states, was a continued breach of regulations. Officials also note that ‘concerns relating to risk had been identified on our previous two inspections’.

And there was further criticism of the home’s recruitment processes. The watchdog found ‘not enough improvement’ had been made at this inspection and the provider was still in breach of regulations.

“Systems and processes were not always being followed to support the safe recruitment of staff,” the report reads.

Two staff members did not have all necessary pre-employment checks in place before starting in their role, including references and DBS checks.

“The provider had failed to operate an effective recruitment process. This placed people at risk of harm.”

Inspectors also found the home complaints were not being acted on in line with the home’s policy and incidents were still not always reported to the CQC when they should have been.

Moreover the provider had not fully complied with the conditions CQC imposed during the last inspection.

The CQC says it will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress at the home.

The home will be reinspected within the next six months. If the provider has not made enough improvement within this time frame the watchdog says it ‘will take action in line with our enforcement procedures’.

This includes cancelling its registration or varying the conditions of the registration.

For adult social care services, the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months.

A spokesperson for the home said: “Whilst we do not agree with all of the findings of the CQC report, we are working closely with the CQC, local authority and other stakeholders at this time.

“We remain committed to the safety of the service users living at the home.”

Nick Statham, Local Democracy Reporting Service