The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has again rated Norbury Court in Sheffield, inadequate, and kept it in special measures to protect people following an inspection in July.
Norbury Court, run by Roseberry Care Centres (Yorkshire) Limited, is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for older people.
This inspection was carried out to follow up on concerns from a previous inspection. Inspectors looked at the areas of safe, and well-led.
Following this inspection, the overall rating for the home, as well as the areas of safe and well-led, have been rated inadequate again. Effective, caring and responsive remain rated requires improvement from their previous inspection.
The service remains in special measures which means it will be kept under close review by CQC to keep people safe and it will be monitored to check sufficient improvements have been made. CQC is also using its regulatory powers further to keep people safe and will report on this when legally able to do so.
Alan Stephenson, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said:
“When we inspected Norbury Court, it was disappointing that despite some improvements being made since we last inspected, we continued to identify significant shortfalls that compromised people’s safety and wellbeing.
“Leaders didn’t always ensure there were enough staff to support and maintain people’s safety and wellbeing. For example, there were occasions when people at risk of falls were left unattended due to poor staff deployment.
“Sometimes people who needed encouragement and prompting with their meals weren’t always receiving this as staff were too busy elsewhere in the home.
“Where risks to people were known, their care plans weren’t always up to date, or accurate. For example, there was conflicting information in some care records relating to diet and fluid levels for people at risk of choking.
“It was positive, however, that staff felt supported in their roles, able to raise concerns and that the service had improved since the new senior team were in post. Leaders told us they were committed to addressing outstanding actions and sustaining improvements at the home.
“We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid, and continued improvements and will continue to monitor the home closely to keep people safe during this time. We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to use our regulatory powers further if people aren’t receiving the care they have a right to expect.”
Inspectors found:
- Records weren’t always clear whether people had been supported with specific activities or not which could confuse staff and place people at risk of not being cared for appropriately.
- Some areas required a deep clean and many areas were poorly maintained making cleaning difficult.
- Quality and safety audit systems weren’t always effective and didn’t always identify concerns.
- Staff weren’t always aware of people’s moving and handling risks particularly when their mobility was decreasing.
- There was no oversight of people's mealtime experiences to ensure they were appropriately supported and wait times weren’t excessive.
However:
- Staff were able to recognise possible signs of abuse and knew how to report such concerns.
- Inspectors observed some kind and caring interactions between people and staff.