The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told Cressington Court Care Home in Liverpool to make urgent improvements following an inspection in March and April.
The inspection took place due to concerns received about medicines, staffing and clinical care.
Cressington Court is a residential care home that provides support for people who live with physical disabilities and dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 47 people using the service. Everyone with nursing needs has since moved to alternative services following a joint agreement with the provider, CQC and other partner organisations.
Following this inspection, the overall rating for the service has dropped from requires improvement to inadequate. How safe, effective, caring and well-led the service is has dropped from requires improvement to inadequate and the service’s responsiveness rating has dropped from good to inadequate.
The service has also been placed in special measures, which means it will be closely monitored and re-inspected within six months to assess whether improvements have been made. If sufficient improvements are not made within that time, CQC will take further action.
Hayley Moore, CQC’s head of adult social care inspection, said:
“During our inspection, we found a service that wasn’t well-led and the provider failed to make sure people received the person-centred, high quality care and treatment they deserve.
“We were very worried about people’s safety for a number of reasons. A significant number of people were at risk of malnutrition and dehydration, with one person losing more than six stone in a six-month period. These issues were also raised by other healthcare professionals however, the provider hadn’t taken any action to address these concerns.
“Medicines weren’t being managed well, and one person hadn’t consistently received their prescribed daily medicine for a month, putting them at serious risk.
"Aside from the safety issues we found, this wasn’t a dignified or caring place for people to call home. One person hadn’t been bathed for four weeks as staff said they didn’t have time, and agency staff failed to take into account people’s individual needs and preferences.
“Environmental issues were also having a serious impact on people. We saw someone in a lot of pain, who couldn’t ask for pain relief as the call bell was faulty. The manager knew about this but hadn’t repaired it which is totally unacceptable.
“During the inspection, the provider acted on some issues with the environment, however more urgent improvements are needed to keep people safe. We will continue to monitor the service closely and if rapid, widespread improvements aren’t made, we won’t hesitate to take further action.”
Inspectors found the following during this inspection:
- People weren’t consistently supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives.
- People’s needs were not effectively assessed or reviewed.
- Not all staff had the skills and experience to provide safe, responsive and effective care and treatment.
- In the home people weren’t always protected from the risk of harm, this included not always receiving their prescribed medicines.
- There were times staff didn’t effectively safeguard people or act on recommendations made by safeguarding professionals to reduce risks identified.
- Accidents and incidents weren’t effectively managed to prevent further incidents, and lessons weren’t always learnt.
- People weren’t always treated with kindness, respect or compassion as a number of agency staff failed to understand the needs and preferences of people.
- Support wasn’t always given for people to make informed decisions about end of life care in a person-centred or timely way.
Full details of the inspection are given in the report published on our website.
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