The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Richmond Lodge in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, inadequate and placed it in special measures following an inspection in August.
This inspection looked at the areas of safe, effective and well-led only. Following this inspection, the care home’s overall rating has dropped from good to inadequate and the service has been placed in special measures. The service was also rated inadequate for being safe, effective, and well-led
Richmond Lodge is a residential care home providing personal care for up to five people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of the inspection five people were living at the service.
Debbie Ivanova, CQC’s director for people with learning disabilities and autistic people, said:
“When we inspected Richmond Lodge, we found a service where the standard of care had deteriorated since our last inspection. People’s safety and wellbeing needs weren’t always being met, and risks weren’t effectively managed.
“For example, some people living at the service had autism and the provider had not considered their sensory needs or any specific routines they may have. Autistic people can find certain lighting, sounds, smells, textures and tastes overwhelming, so it’s important this gets addressed.
“People's support plans didn’t set out their long-term aspirations or goals and there was no data about how people were progressing with their hobbies, interests or daily living achievements.
“Staff told us they had concerns about safety, especially during evenings, because there were no lights in the car park area. In addition, the gate and front door to the service were left open for a long period of time during our inspection which could lead to people going out of the service without the support they need.
“We will continue to monitor Richmond Lodge closely to ensure people are safe. If we are not assured people are receiving safe care, we will not hesitate to take action.”
Inspectors found:
- Despite medicine audits being carried out regularly, the provider had failed to ensure these checks were undertaken effectively to identify shortfalls, errors and omissions
- People were not well supported to manage risks with their oral care
- People's hobbies, interests, daily living needs were not prioritised, and people's support plans were not kept up to date
- The provider had failed to implement effective systems and processes to ensure people's support plans and risk assessments were reviewed and updated regularly
- The provider had not taken any steps to comply with the Accessible Information Standard to identify, record, flag, share and meet the information and communication needs of people with a disability or sensory loss
- The provider had completed a range of quality audits; however, these were not effective and failed to recognise shortfalls and poor quality of risk assessments and support plans.
However:
- Staff received support in the form of continual supervision, appraisal and recognition of good practice
- When people experienced periods of distress the provider sought support from the Intensive Community Assessment and Treatment team who could offer specialist recommendations and interventions to reduce unnecessary admission to inpatient services
- Staff felt able to raise concerns with managers without fear of what might happen as a result.
- The provider had informed people's relatives or these acting on their behalf when things went wrong
- People were referred to health professionals in a timely way when this was needed.