Lancashire care home, is rated as Inadequate by the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told Raycroft Unit in Morecambe, Lancashire, that it must make improvements to protect the safety and welfare of people living there.

CQC carried out unannounced inspections of the home in February and March this year and identified a number of areas where improvements were required.

During their inspection, CQC found that the home, operated by Calderdean Limited, was failing to provide care which was safe, effective, responsive or well led.

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

A full report from the inspection has been published on the CQC website: www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-124597635.

The report identifies a number of areas in which improvements are required, including:

• Inspectors found that people’s safety, health and welfare were put at risk because there were not enough suitable staff on duty at all times.
• Recommendations from CQC and external services about the security of the building, electrical safety, fire safety arrangements and infection control had not been acted upon.
• Staff did not have sufficient skills and training to meet the needs of people at the home because they were not always provided with sufficient training and supervision.
• Some people living at the home were being deprived of their liberty without appropriate authorisation and there were no systems in place to ensure that people’s rights were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
• Care plans for people living at the home lacked detail and were not being regularly reviewed to take account of people’s changing needs.
• Recruitment checks for new staff were incomplete and staff were not always provided with sufficient training and supervision.
• The provider did not have an effective system in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.

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

“People are entitled to services which provide safe, effective, compassionate and high quality care.

"We found many concerns around people's care and welfare generally. It is clear that Calderdean Limited did not have a system to monitor the quality of the service and take the required action.

“We have told the provider that they must take action to resolve the issues we have identified as a priority and we are monitoring the situation closely in liaison with the local authority to ensure people are safe from any immediate risk.

“Because of our findings we are currently considering the need for further regulatory action against the service, to protect the rights of the people there, but due to legal reasons we cannot comment further at this stage."

Any regulatory decision that CQC takes is open to challenge by a registered person through a variety of internal and external appeal processes.

Ends

For further information please contact CQC Regional Communications Officer Mark Humphreys on 0191 233 3519. Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here. Please note: the press office is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters.

For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.