The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Bowland Lodge, a care home in Newcastle upon Tyne, inadequate and kept it in special measures, following an inspection in September.
This unannounced inspection was carried out to check on the progress of improvements CQC told the provider to make, following another inspection earlier this year.
Bowland Lodge, run by Mr Ram Perkesh Malhotra and Mr Darshen Kumar Malhotra, is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 36 people living with a variety of needs including mental health and dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 26 people using the service with 25 receiving personal care.
Following this inspection, the home was again rated inadequate overall which is the same for being safe and well-led. How responsive the service is to people’s needs has improved from inadequate to requires improvement and effective and caring were again rated requires improvement.
The service has been told where it must improve, and it will remain in special measures, under close review to ensure people’s safety and to assess whether improvements have been made. CQC expects to see rapid and widespread improvement and will not hesitate to take further enforcement action.
Linda Hirst, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said:
“When we inspected Bowland Lodge, it was disappointing to see a number of issues which were highlighted during our previous inspection had still not been addressed including a continued lack of compliance with our regulations which are designed to keep people safe.
"Our main concern was the lack of effective systems in place to ensure the service provided safe and good quality care to people using it. Records were still not always clear and up-to-date and didn’t fully show that the provider had taken steps to mitigate any potential risks to people.
“We also had serious concerns about the safety of the environment people were living in. Improvements were needed in the cleanliness and maintenance of the home’s indoor and outside spaces, fire safety and infection control, including food hygiene. Following the inspection, the registered manager has told us they’ve taken further action to address our concerns in this area.
"However, we did find some improvements. During our last inspection, we found the provider had taken action to improve how people’s social needs were met. A new activities coordinator had been employed and an activities programme such as arts and crafts, was in place. Also, people were supported to access the local community giving people a chance to connect with not just others at the service but the wider community.
“Following the inspection, we gave feedback to the manager and provider who took our concerns on board and developed an action plan to address the issues identified. We will continue to monitor the service closely and if we’re not assured rapid and widespread improvements have been made and embedded, we will not hesitate to further use our enforcement powers to keep people safe.”
Inspectors found:
- The provider had not implemented robust monitoring systems to improve the quality and safety of the service
- Risks relating to eating and drinking had not always been fully assessed to ensure people were safe and their health needs were met
- The refurbishment plan discussed at previous inspections was still ongoing and the environment, furnishings and cleanliness did not promote people’s safety, privacy, dignity and wellbeing
- Records did not always evidence that safe recruitment procedures were followed
- The system to manage medicines was not always effective.
- Action had been taken to improve care planning. However, further improvements were required to ensure care plans and risk assessments were up to date and reflected people’s needs
- Inspectors observed some positive interactions between people and staff. However, due to the concerns identified during the inspection, inspectors could not be assured people received a high quality, compassionate and caring service.
However,
- There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and a staff support and training system was in place
- Improvements had been made in relation to meeting people’s social needs. An activities programme was in place. People were supported to access the local community and take part in activities which interested them such as arts and crafts.
The report will be published on the CQC website in the next few days.