Eboracum House, Barnsley, is rated as Inadequate by CQC

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told Eboracum House in Barnsley, South Yorkshire that it must make improvements or face further enforcement action.

During an unannounced inspection in July 2014, inspectors found that the home operated by Stephen Oldale and Susan Leigh, was failing to provide care which was safe, effective, caring responsive or well led.

A full report of this inspection has been published on the CQC website this week. www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-118344048.

Under CQC’s new programme of inspections, all adult social care services are being given a rating to help people choose care. Overall, Eboracum House has been rated as Inadequate.

Inspectors identified a number of areas in which improvements were required, including:

• Although staff had received training necessary for their roles, they were not receiving regular supervision sessions or appraisals to monitor their practice or identify areas for improvement.
• There was not enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs in a timely manner and inspectors raised concerns regarding the home’s ability to safely protect people in the event of an emergency.
• Residents were being put at risk because staff had failed to report safeguarding incidents to the local authority team for investigation or notify CQC.
• Staff lacked understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• The building was old and designed in a way which made it difficult for wheelchairs to navigate around in.
• Although care plans were in place that detailed people’s needs and preferences, staff were not consistently responsive to people’s needs.
• Inspectors found a lack of processes to monitor care quality. Audits did take place, but the extent to which actions identified were taken to improve the service was not apparent.

Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care in the North said:

“Although we witnessed caring interactions between staff and the people who lived there and residents spoke positively about the care they received, we found a number of concerns. We have told the provider that they must take action to resolve the issues we have identified.

“The people receiving care at Eboracum House are entitled to services that are of a consistently high quality and care that is tailored to meet their individual needs.

“We have made it clear that we will return to the home to check that the necessary improvements have been made. If not - we will take further action to make sure that people living there receive care which is safe, effective, caring and responsive to their needs.”

When we propose to take enforcement action, our decision is open to challenge by the provider through a variety of internal and external appeal processes. We will publish a further report on any action we take.

Ends

For further information please contact CQC Regional Communications Officer Mark Humphreys on 0191 233 3519. Alternatively, the CQC press office can be contacted on 0207 448 9401 or out of hours on 07789 876508