Acorns Care Centre, a residential care and nursing home in Wigan, Greater Manchester has again been rated as Inadequate by CQC following an inspection in November 2017.
The service is registered to provide personal care and nursing support, at the time of this inspection, there were 33 people using the service.
Acorns Care Centre was previously inspected in April 2017 and rated as Inadequate after CQC inspectors found breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
Debbie Westhead, CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector for Adult Social Care said:
“People are entitled to services providing them with safe, effective, responsive and high quality care. We found care provided at Acorns Care Centre in Wigan, fell short of the standard that services are expected to provide.
“Although we found improvements had been made at a previous inspection in April 2017, these have not been sustained, and in some areas we found care had got worse.
“It was concerning that environmental health inspectors found a mice infestation and the provider had not undertaken building repairs in a timely fashion to prevent rodent access. Pest control arrangements were also ineffective for the needs of this home.
“Our inspectors also found that people were not being kept safe, and were at risk of harm as care plans were not being followed. For example two people were assessed as having difficulty swallowing, but were being given food that they may have choked on.
“We found ineffective systems were in place to safeguard people from abuse and improper treatment. There were two incidents that should have been referred to the local safeguarding team but weren’t, and one incident had been unknown to either of the registered managers.
“We are working with local partners including Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council to ensure the safety of people using this service.”
Other findings from the inspection included:
- A chaotic re-ordering system for medicines which put people at risk.
- People’s care plans not being followed.
- Training schedules for staff were ineffective, meaning some staff were working without the required competence and skills to fulfil the duties of their role.
- Staff were not appropriately supported by management.
- Staff were described as kind, caring and always willing to help by people using the service and their relatives. Inspectors also saw people treated with dignity and respect, and given privacy by staff when they needed it.
CQC are currently considering further action in line with enforcement policy and will provide full details when the law allows.
Any regulatory decision that CQC takes is open to challenge by a registered person through a variety of internal and external appeal processes.
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For further information please contact CQC Regional Engagement Officer Kerri James by email kerri.james@cqc.org.uk or by phone on 07464 92 9966.
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We are working with local partners including Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council to ensure the safety of people using this service.
Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector for Adult Social Care