St Anne's care home warned over safe care & treatment of vulnerable residents by CQC watchdog

This week it was announced that Royal Care Home in York Road, St Anne’s, has been rated overall Requires Improvement, following an inspection in August And last month, the CQC issued two warning notices on owner Curo Blackpool Limited, as the provider had failed to ensure the safe care and treatment of people and that appropriate governance and oversight was operated effectively.

What did inspectors find?

Inspectors said that at a previous inspection they had identified breaches of the legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, good governance and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards, and at the latest inspection, “we found some of these issues had not been fully addressed”. Infact, they found three breaches of the legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment (in areas including medicines, infection control, risk management and safe environments), good governance, staff supervisions and recruitment.

Other issues highlighted included:

- The facilities, equipment and environment were not always well-maintained and risks were not always mitigated.

- There were enough staff with the right skills, qualifications and experience in place, but they had not always been safely recruited.

- Medicines were not always safely managed.

- Staff reviewed assessments though these did not always identify issues we found with records. People’s care records were not audited.

- People always had enough to eat and drink to stay healthy, though records relating to some people’s nutrition were not always accurate.

- Staff worked with all agencies involved in people’s care for the best outcomes but feedback from professionals was mixed and inspectors found necessary improvements were slow to be implemented.

- Staff did not feel treated equally. The report states: “There was poor governance of the service. There was not a culture of continuous improvement within the home based on the concerns identified at this inspection and the fact that some of these were similar to concerns we identified at our last inspection.”

Positives

Inspectors also commented on positives found during the inspection. They said:

- “People’s consent was gained where possible and staff took decisions in people’s best interests where they did not have capacity. People were involved in assessments of their needs.”

- “People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity and they treated them as individuals and supported their preferences.”

- “People had choice in their care and were encouraged to maintain relationships with family and friends, though improvements was needed in areas such as activities”.

- “Staff responded to people in a timely way”.

Curo Blackpool Ltd has been approached for comment.