Archived: Glen Heathers

Updated 28 June 2022

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by four inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Glen Heathers is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Glen Heathers is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. A manager had been appointed and we were told they would be applying to be the registered manager. We have referred to this person as the manager throughout the report.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used information from on-going monitoring of the service such as action plans and meetings. We used all this information to plan our inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with nine people who used the service and nine relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 14 members of staff including agency workers, the manager, the training and compliance manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found and we referred our concerns to the local authority.

Updated 28 June 2022

About the service

Glen Heathers is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 53 people. The service provides support to older people including people living with dementia and/or a physical disability. At the time of our inspection there were 24 people using the service. Glen Heathers accommodated people in one adapted building.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were not always prevented from receiving unsafe care and treatment. People were at risk of harm because risks to them were not always assessed or mitigated.

Incidents including safeguarding concerns were not always recognised, reported or investigated. There were concerns about the safe management of; medicines, infection control, staffing and recruitment.

The provider had failed to make enough improvements since the previous inspection and has a track record of not providing good standards of safety. We continued to receive feedback from people and relatives which raised concerns about the safety and quality of care.

The delivery of high-quality care is not assured by the provider’s system in place to assess, monitor, and improve the service. A manager is in post and we received positive feedback about their impact on the service culture. However, leadership in the service has been stretched and inconsistent which has meant progress since the previous inspection has been slow and improvements have not always been sustained.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 12 November 21)

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We received concerns about people’s safety and as a result, we undertook this focused inspection. In addition, we carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service on 13 September 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after that inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve notifications of other incidents, safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment, premises and equipment, safe care and treatment, good governance and staffing.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe and well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has not changed from inadequate. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Glen Heathers on our website at www.cqc.org.uk .

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to the safe care and treatment for people, staffing, safeguarding people from abuse and improper treatment, fit and proper persons employed, governance and notifying CQC of incidents.

We issued a Notice of Proposal to remove this location from the providers registration. The provider did not submit any representations against this Notice so we issued a Notice of Decision. We have now removed this location from the provider's registration. This service is no longer operational with effect from 6 June 2022.