Care home told it '˜requires improvement' after health inspection

Inspectors visited Sherwood Court, on Sherwood Way, Fulwood, in August.

Sherwood Court was told it ‘requires improvement’ overall but also specifically in each service area – safety, effectiveness, care, responsiveness, and being well-led.

The previous CQC inspectors visit in June 2015 rated the care home as ‘good’.

One area of criticism was in regards to cleanliness and medicine handling.

The report said: “Our observations and discussions found that the safe handling of medicines, the prevention of risks and the prevention of the spread of infection and cleanliness within the home were deemed to be not satisfactory.”

Inspectors found that staff were seen to be very busy and staff felt that they could not always offer people the person centered care that they wanted to. Staff also felt they did not always receive support through effective supervision and appraisal.

The CQC inspectors noted that all staff had the required pre-employment checks and that relatives also spoke fondly of how their loved ones medicines were managed.

The report noted: “Relatives we spoke with were happy with how their loved ones medicines were managed.

“We saw that controlled drugs were managed in line with the best practice guidelines and medicines were counted and checked as required.”

Barchester Healthcare Homes, who manage Sherwood Court, said: “We take the findings of the Care Quality Commission very seriously and we recognise that changes need to be made in the home as the report identified.

“We have implemented a comprehensive plan clearly outlining the steps being taken to ensure these improvements in our services continue to be achieved.

“The home has employed new management and will continue to ensure staff receive the support they need. We would like to reassure every one of our commitment to provide the highest quality of care to those living at Sherwood Court and to emphasise that their health and wellbeing is at the forefront of everything we do.”

Director of adult social care transformation for Lancashire County Council, Ian Crabtree, said: “We are working closely in partnership with the local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group to support the managers at Sherwood Court to make improvements, following the latest Care Quality Commission inspection.

“People’s safety and wellbeing is our main concern. We work closely with residential care homes in this way when issues are brought to our attention through inspections, or when we feel we need to provide extra support to enable them to make improvements.”