The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has again rated a care home in Bourne End inadequate, following an inspection in February.
CQC inspected Chilterns Manor to follow up on actions CQC told the provider to take at the previous visit in August 2022.
The service is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 22 people. The service provides support to older people and people living with dementia.
In addition to the service’s overall rating remaining inadequate following the inspection, its ratings for being safe and well-led also remain as inadequate.
The home will remain in special measures. This means CQC will continue to closely monitor it, and it will be inspected again to assess whether improvements have been made.
Amy Jupp, CQC deputy director of operations in the south of England, said:
“Poor leadership arrangements undermined the care provided to people at Chilterns Manor. We found people weren’t supported to have as much choice as possible about their care, or the activities they wanted to do.
“We observed several interactions between people and staff at mealtimes and when they were serving drinks. Some staff stood over people when they assisted them, rather than sitting beside them or bending down at the same level. We discussed this with the provider and there was little appreciation of the effect this would have on people's enjoyment of meals.
“There was also a number of safety risks. For example, portable electric heaters were placed in people's bedrooms. We went into one room where the person had dementia and may not have fully understood the dangers this posed when their heater was on. The surface temperature was exceptionally hot and the person in the room was unsupervised. We asked staff to stop using these due to the risk of injury and alerted the provider to the risk of harm.
“Following the inspection, we reported our findings to the service’s leaders, so they know what they must address.
“We’re monitoring the service closely, including through inspections, and we’ll not hesitate to use our enforcement powers if we’re not assured people are safe – or if improvements aren’t made.”
Inspectors found:
- People were a risk of injury as staff did not always follow safe procedures when they assisted people to move. Inspectors did observe poor moving and handling processes
- While recruitment checks had been carried out for all staff, it was not made clear how some staff with no experience of working in adult social care and who had limited English had been appointed to their roles. Their application forms and references did not provide assurance of their suitability
- Staff had poor English skills and often spoke in their first language in front of people
- People were not engaged in decisions about their care. The culture of the home was not person-centred, inclusive and empowering.