The Care Quality Commission has put Laureate Court, Rotherham into special measures to protect people using the service, rating them as Inadequate following an inspection in June this year.
Laureate Court provides residential and nursing care for up to 82 people who are living with dementia and other mental health problems. The home has three units; Byron and Shelley both provide nursing care and Keats which provides residential care. At the time of our inspection there were 56 people using the service, 26 people receiving nursing care and 30 people receiving residential care.
We ask five questions, are services; safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. Overall, Laureate Court has been rated as Inadequate.
Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care in the North, said:
“People are entitled to services which provide safe, effective and well-led, high quality care. “We found the care provided by Laureate Court fell short of the standards we expect services to provide.
“We were concerned that basic risks to people’s safety were not being managed. For example, although there were systems in place to make sure people were being given their medications in a safe and timely way by trained staff, but these systems weren’t always followed. We also found that some people using the service who were prescribed medication to be given as and when required, were given it regularly as a means to control their agitation. Staff at Laureate Court hadn’t considered other methods to monitor or manage anxiety.
“We were also concerned that people weren’t being protected against the risks associated with infection prevention as safe procedures weren’t followed.
“We also saw that mealtimes at Laureate Court could be disorganised, which meant people weren’t always supported to eat and drink the right amount to maintain a balanced diet.
“We are now taking further action to protect people and we are working closely with Rotherham Council to ensure that people are safe and get the services they need.”
Inspectors found the systems to monitor the quality and safety of the services provided were not effective in identifying where improvements in practice were needed to be made.
The full report of the inspection can be found here on CQC’s website: www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-310638757.
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