"Dirty" Leyland care home put into special measures by health watchdog

Melrose Residentlal Home in Moss Lane, Leyland, is registered to accommodate up to 26 adults who need support with personal care, including those who are living with dementia.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) were prompted to make an inspection of the facility due to concerns received about care planning, the premises, staffing levels, medicines management, falls, and management of the service

They found the home was not safe, effective or well-led, and not always caring or responsive.

>>>Click here to read the 'inadequate' CQC report from 2019 when the home was under different management.

A key concern was that residents were not being protected from the risk of Covid-19 and other infectious diseases.

The report states: "During our inspection we saw some staff members not complying with the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in line with best practice standards.

"The staff team had not received appropriate training in relation to Covid-19 and the correct use of PPE. This was confirmed by staff spoken with.

"The environment was dirty throughout. We found rubbish bins overflowing, bathing and toilet facilities unhygienic, carpets not hoovered and equipment unclean. A visit was made by a Senior Infection Prevention and Control Nurse from the local authority, who found some significant concerns in relation to the control of infection."

The report also states that people were put at risk of avoidable harm because they were not always supported by staff with the skills, knowledge or experience to keep them safe, and systems were either not in place or were not effective enough to support the safe management of medicines.

The report said there had been several incidents within the home which had resulted in harm, that had not been adequately managed or escalated in line with safeguarding and duty of candour processes.

Plans of care were not always reflective of people’s needs, and there was "no evidence to show people had always been involved in planning their own care and support to enable them to make decisions about how they wished to be supported."

The inspectors add: "The majority of relatives we spoke with said they had not been involved in making decisions about their loved ones care."

There was no evidence of meaningful activities taking place, and although the staff team supported people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet, people were not offered a choice of menu or asked what they would like to eat, and there was some lack of supervision.

Inspectors noted that "the environment had been neglected and was in need of upgrading and modernising".

They added: "It was cluttered throughout, which did not promote people's safety or independence. The cluttered areas were in general cleared at the time of our inspection. The communal spaces were cramped and therefore did not provide adequate spaces for people to spend time on their own."

As a result of concerns, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service visited the property and served an enforcement notice because people who lived at the home were at risk of harm.

The recruitment practices adopted by the home were also found not to be robust.

New staff had not been thoroughly checked prior to employment commencing, including some staff members not undergoing police checks before starting employment, meaning "staff were not deemed fit to support the vulnerable people who lived at Melrose."

Leadership in the home was said to be "deficient", with senior care staff not aware of regulatory functions and were not in possession of the managerial skills, experience or ability to supervise the operation of the home on a day to day basis.

The overall rating for this service is 'Inadequate' and therefore, it has been places in 'special measures'. This means the CQC will keep the service under review and, if they do not propose to cancel the provider's registration, it will be re-inspected within six months to check for significant improvements.

If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe and there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall rating, enforcement action will be taken, which could mean closing the home.

Management at Melrose Residential Home have been approached for comment.