Failing care home will close down

Kenmure Lodge Residential Home in Kenmure Place, Preston, was rated as inadequate in a recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

It faced being closed down if improvements were not made, but yesterday a spokesman for the home confirmed it would be shutting next year anyway.

He said: “We have been placed into special measures, but this decision is nothing to do with the CQC - it’s because the owner is retiring next year.”

No futher information has been given about the time frame or alternative arrangements for residents.

The CQC report stated that although the service was caring, it was unsafe, not well led, not consistently effective or responsive.

Inspectors said: “The service did not have adequate care staff to ensure that people’s needs were sufficiently met”.

They also raised concerns over a lack of training and recruitment procedures, which “had a potential of exposing people to risk of abuse”.

Other key issues highlighted included:

- People were not adequately supported with meaningful daytime activities

- Some toilets did not have hand washing soap and continence pads had been disposed in normal, open bins

- Allegations made against one member of staff had not been adequately addressed by the registered manager

- Medicines had not been managed in a robust manner. This included storage, unsafe moving and handling practices and people did not have care plans for ‘as and when’ medicines

- The CQC were not informed of incidents such as injuries or people going missing.