Cheshire care home placed into special measures
Winsford Grange Care Home has been given an inadequate rating
The owner of a care home in Cheshire says it's put a comprehensive plan in place after it was placed into special measures.
Park Homes UK has apologised after the Care Quality Commission gave Winsford Grange Care Home an inadequate rating.
Inspectors raised concerns for the safety of 48 residents.
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns CQC had received around people’s safety and personal care being provided to people.
The service has been placed in special measures, which means it will be kept under close review by CQC to keep people already living there safe whilst improvements are made and CQC is using its regulatory powers further.
Karen Knapton, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said:
“When we inspected Winsford Grange Care Home, we were concerned to find people were at risk because not all staff had been trained well enough to follow safeguarding processes to keep people safe. Staff also told us they were concerned about low staffing levels and were worried about their ability to keep people safe and provide effective care
“The service didn’t always request external professional advice when required, or make external referrals as required. For example, staff were making decisions regarding people's dietary needs without referrals to speech and language therapist. This put people at risk of having diets which could cause them to choke on their food.
“Staff weren’t always caring for people with dignity and respect, telling us they didn’t always have time to give residents a shower or a bath or help with other personal support needs.
“Some people with complex needs didn’t get the support they required and were sometimes excluded from activities as the service didn’t have the number of staff required to support them safely.
“The home wasn’t clean, as there weren’t enough domestic staff to carry out these duties or make sure people had clean clothes. We also saw ripped chairs and damaged furniture which were infection control risks.
“We’ve told Winsford Grange Care Home where we expect to see rapid improvements and are using our regulatory powers further to protect people. We will continue to monitor the home closely during this time.”
Park Homes UK response
Park Homes UK takes the recent rating issued by CQC very seriously. We are committed to maintaining the highest standards of compliance and ensuring the safety, security, and wellbeing of our residents. We acknowledge the concerns raised by the regulator, and we are fully dedicated to addressing these issues promptly and comprehensively.
The rating provided by CQC highlights areas where our service may have fallen short of the regulatory requirements and our own high standards. We deeply regret any impact this may have on our stakeholders and assure you that have taken immediate actions to improve and resolve these matters.
To address the issues identified, we have implemented a comprehensive plan that includes a thorough internal review of compliance procedures and processes at the home and have put in extra resources to support us to quickly resolve all highlighted concerns at Winsford Grange. We want to reassure everyone that we are fully dedicated to resolving these issues promptly and effectively to ensure the best possible outcomes and quality of life for our residents.