The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Saffron House in Barwell, Leicester, inadequate, and placed it in special measures following an inspection in June.
Saffron House, which is run by Minster Care Management Limited, provides accommodation and personal care to older people and younger adults living with a physical disability or dementia.
The inspection was carried out as part of CQC’s continual checks on the safety and quality of healthcare services.
Following the inspection, the overall rating for the home, as well as the areas of safe and well-led, have moved down from requires improvement to inadequate. How responsive, effective and caring the service is has moved down from good to requires improvement. CQC inspectors also issued warning notices due to concerns found around safe care and treatment and governance.
The service has been placed in special measures which means it will be kept under review and, if CQC do not propose to cancel the provider's registration, there will be a re-inspection to check for significant improvements.
Craig Howarth, CQC deputy director of operations in the midlands, said:
“When we inspected Saffron House, it was concerning to see people were being cared for in an environment that was well below the standard that people should be able to expect. Leaders need to prioritise making swift improvements, particularly around the poor cleanliness and hygiene, that was placing people at risk of harm.
“Saffron House is somewhere that people using this service call home and leaders weren’t ensuring it was a safe clean place for people to live. We saw dirty toilets, commode bowls, doors, and walls and stained bedding containing rips and holes. Several bedrooms and corridors had strong and unpleasant smells and we saw multiple mattresses which were heavily soiled and foul smelling which is totally unacceptable.
“In addition, people weren’t protected from water borne infections like Legionnaires’ disease due to a build-up of limescale on multiple taps around the home.
“It was also concerning that people were being deprived of their liberty due to communal toilets, bathrooms, and shower rooms being locked. This meant that people who were able to independently manage their continence and bathing needs had to request access which took away their dignity and independence.
“However, we did see some positive areas of care. Staff were recruited safely and once in post, felt supported within their roles, and received regular supervision from managers. People also told us staff were kind and caring and treated them with respect.
“We will continue to monitor the service closely to ensure significant improvements are made. If we are not assured people are receiving safe care, we will not hesitate to take further enforcement action to ensure people are receiving the high standard of care they deserve.”
Inspectors found:
- Systems and processes to ensure good oversight of the service were ineffective
- Records were either inaccurate or lacked detail to provide staff with guidance on how to support people appropriately
- No preventative action had been taken to reduce fire risks
- There wasn’t always guidance to inform staff on how to support people safely and consistently
- Medicines weren’t managed safely which exposed people to the risk of harm
- There weren’t enough staff to keep people safe and meet their needs, particularly during the night
- Advice and guidance provided by health care professionals wasn’t always incorporated or available in people's care plans.
However:
- People were able to engage in activities at the home
- The provider's approach to visitors in the care home was in line with government guidance and people were supported to have visitors
- The provider had an equality policy and staff had received training in equality and diversity. This helped staff care for people's unique needs with respect.