'We didn't expect a second negative report' - Accrington care home rated as not always safe by CQC watchdog

Moorhead Rest Home in Whalley Road, Accrington, is run by M.M.R Care Limited and provides personal care for up to 27 people living with dementia, physical disabilities, or sensory impairments.

Last year, CQC inspectors rated it as inadequate overall and placed it in Special Measures, saying it would be kept under review and closely monitored while improvements were made to ensure people are safe. But a second inspection has revealed it is still failing in many areas.

A report was issued this month, based on on-site visits carried out on June 16 and 17 as well as July 1. It states that the although the service was no longer in breach of legal requirement consent issues, it had continued breaches in safe care and treatment, good governance, staffing, recruitment and premises and equipment. It was rated as Inadequate overall, and remains in Special Measures.

The report

Inspectors found a catalogue of issues, including:

- People were not always safe and protected from harm and staff did not have knowledge of DoLS (Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards).

- The environment people lived in was not safe and fire safety concerns were not always addressed.

- Inspectors said: “We observed staff did not always treat people with dignity and respect. We observed an incident whereby staff were not communicating well with a person who was distressed and one staff member walked away with their fingers in their ears.”

- Staff were not recruited safely and concerns were identified in staffing levels. Staff were also not receiving regular supervision and staff training was not up to date.

- Inspectors said: “We found concerns relating to the infection, prevention and control of this service and unpleasant odours were identified during our site visit.”

- Medicines were not always being managed safely and staff who were trained in the administration of medicines didn’t all have an up to date competency assessment in place.

- People’s personal information was not always protected and confidential information was not secured.

- Staff did not feel supported by the leaders of this service and staff told us morale was low.

The report states: “Most of the concerns found at this assessment were present at the last assessment and there was a lack of effective audits and provider audits to ensure good governance systems. Staff were not having regular meetings and were not always kept up to date of any changes. Policies and procedures were in place, but they were not accurate or being followed. We made numerous requests for professional contact details and for various records, some of which were not provided.”

Positives

Staff told CQC inspectors that they worked well together and daily handovers were taking place. Consent was sought when required and the service was following the Accessible Information Standards. Contingency plans were in place as well as on call arrangements.

Inspectors reported how people felt safe using this service and relatives felt people had settled into the service well. People said the staff were “lovely” and felt the service was clean. One person said, “They (staff) clean my room every day and the lounge and dining room are kept clean and tidy.” The report added: “People felt the food was of a good standard and that they would always be offered a choice. Relatives felt staff worked well together and people told us they could access a GP when needed.”

What do management say?

A spokesman for Moorhead Rest Home said: “We did not expect to receive a second negative report from the CQC. Considerable effort was put into raising the home’s standards, which had been recognised by both CQC and LCC. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances led to a decline in quality once more. Since then, we have implemented important improvements and remain committed to further enhancing the service and raising the overall standard of care.

“There is now fantastic new management in place they have put things in place to ensure the home is safe and to meet the high quality of care.”