The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Westerley Residential Care Home for the Elderly in Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire, inadequate, and placed it in special measures following an inspection in August and September.
Westerley Residential Care Home for the Elderly, which is run by The Leaders of Worship and Preachers Homes, provides accommodation and personal care for up to 30 older people.
The inspection was carried out to check if improvements had been made since the last inspection when warning notices were issued due to concerns found. Inspectors looked at the areas of safe, effective, and well-led at this inspection.
Following the inspection, the overall rating for the home is inadequate, as well as the areas of safe, effective, and well-led. The service was previously rated requires improvement overall, and for being safe, effective, and well-led. Responsive and caring were previously rated good.
The service has been placed in special measures which means it will be kept under close review to make sure people are safe and, if CQC do not propose to cancel the provider's registration, there will be a re-inspection to check for significant improvements.
Greg Rielly, CQC deputy director of operations in the midlands, said:
“When we inspected Westerley Residential Care Home for the Elderly, we were disappointed to see that little improvement had been made since we last inspected, and we saw a deterioration in the level of care being provided to people.
“It was concerning that risks to people's health and safety still weren’t being managed effectively. For example, when people had fallen, there were insufficient measures or checks being taken to prevent people coming to further harm.
“Several people living at the home, visitors and staff raised concerns about the cleanliness of the home environment. There were unpleasant odours in some areas of the home, and we found bedrooms that needed cleaning and ensuites that were dirty and unhygienic.
“We also saw some unsafe areas of the home where people could be harmed, for example, several hot water outlets weren’t temperature controlled which placed people at risk of scalding. Leaders hadn’t taken sufficient action to ensure there was no risk of legionella in the water systems, and window restrictors weren’t being checked to ensure they were safe meaning people could fall out.
“We will continue to monitor the service closely to ensure the necessary improvements are made and keep people safe during this time. If improvements are not made by the time we next inspect, we will not hesitate to take further enforcement action.”
Inspectors found:
- People's care documentation didn’t always include accurate information about their risks to guide staff on how to support them safely
- Kitchen cleaning records hadn’t been completed consistently to show that appropriate cleaning had been completed
- When audits had been completed and shortfalls identified, the necessary improvements hadn’t always been made
- Medicines weren’t managed safely, in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance
- Records showed that only 46% of staff had completed the provider's safeguarding training
- Quality and safety audits weren’t being completed regularly
- People living at the home, relatives and staff said there weren’t enough staff to meet people's needs.
However:
- There was evidence that management and staff had worked well with community agencies
- The provider had a duty of candour policy, and the manager was aware of their responsibilities
- Two community professionals who visited the home told us most staff were friendly and approachable.
The report will be published on CQC’s website in the next few days.