Walsall care home has failed to protect people’s safety and welfare says regulator

29 May 2013

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has warned the owner of Castlefort Grange Limited they must make improvements to comply with the national standards of quality and safety.

During an unannounced inspection at the home, in Castlefort Road, Walsall Wood, Walsall, the provider was found to be failing to meet all three of the national standards of care and safety assessed.

Providers of care services have a legal responsibility to make sure they are meeting all national standards of quality and safety.

When inspectors visited the home on 4 April, after previously issuing a warning on their January inspection, they found the care provided was falling short of the standards people should be able to expect and improvements were needed.

The service was failing to meet all three of the national standards of care and safety assessed relating to the care and welfare of people who use services, assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision and records.

What inspectors found:

Care and welfare of people who use services

It was evident that care assessments were still not updated once people had moved into the home. Assessments are for staff to follow and should identify the specific support needs of an individual. The lack of updates meant people were at risk of unsafe or inappropriate care as their needs had not been appropriately assessed.

CQC found that some care plans were unlawfully discriminatory. People with dementia were described as "aggressive and violent”. Providers of health and social care have a responsibility not to discriminate against anyone.

In addition, it was noted that residents were not actively involved in the planning or delivery of their care.

Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision

It was observed that the needs of people were not being properly assessed. The service had no system in place to work out how many staff were required to ensure the needs of all residents were met. CQC could not find any evidence of change or progress in this area during their latest inspection.

Inspectors observed that residents were left unattended in the lounge for long periods of time. The manager told inspectors that they planned to provide additional staff during the morning and evening shifts to ensure the needs of residents were met.

Records

Care plans were not updated to reflect the changing needs of residents. For example, one person's plan stated no change at every recorded date. However, this person had recently sustained a fall whilst using their walking frame and no falls or risk assessment had been completed.

Additionally, the local authority suggested during their February visit that pressure mats should be put in place at the home to prevent falls, but this had still not been done.

Andrea Gordon, Deputy Director of Operations (regions) for CQC, said: “The repeated failings at Castlefort Grange Limited are a real concern and immediate improvements need to be made.

“CQC has been working closely with the local authority to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people receiving care at Castlefort Grange Limited and we have told the provider where they must improve.

“Our inspectors will return in the near future and if we find the required progress is not made we won’t hesitate to take further action where necessary.”

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

Castlefort Grange Limited offers accommodation and personal care to people with dementia. The service can accommodate up to 23 people.

Ends

For further information please contact Helen Gildersleeve, regional communications officer, on 0191 2333379 or the CQC press office on 0207 448 9401 or out of hours on 07917 232 143.

Notes to editors

You can read the full report at the Castlefort Grange Care Limited page.