Middlesbrough care home placed under special measures.
The CQC say they've taken action to protect people.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Gables Care Home in Middlesbrough, inadequate, and placed it in special measures to protect people following an assessment in May and June.
Gables Care Home, run by T.L. Care Limited, provides accommodation, personal and nursing care for up to 64 people, some of whom are living with dementia.
This assessment was carried out in response to ongoing concerns from the local authority relating to people’s care and treatment, and the management of safety and risk at the service.
Following this assessment, the overall rating for the home has gone down from requires improvement to inadequate. Safe, effective, responsive and well-led have gone down from requires improvement to inadequate, and caring has gone down from good to requires improvement.
The service has been placed in special measures which means it will be kept under close review by CQC to keep people safe and it will be monitored to check sufficient improvements have been made. CQC is also taking further regulatory action which it will report on when legally able to do so.
Linda Hirst, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said:
“When we assessed Gables Care Home, it was disappointing that leaders had made little improvement or progress since we last inspected and we continued to identify shortfalls that compromised people’s safety and the quality of care they were receiving.
“Staff raised safeguarding concerns with leaders, but these hadn’t been acted upon and no action had been taken. Concerns included staff sleeping on shifts and staff not being trained in moving and handling people which could place them at risk of harm.
“The local authority had raised concerns about the poor quality of people’s care plans. They contained limited information about people’s preferred care and how to support them safely. There was a risk that if a person was admitted to hospital, important information wouldn’t be available, and we found hospital records hadn’t been completed for most people.
“It was concerning that people told us they didn’t feel like a priority to staff. A resident survey completed in January included areas for improvement such as people knowing about their care plan and being involved in decisions around their care, but no action had been taken to improve these areas.
“Leaders acknowledged improvements were needed in relation to care planning and were working to improve these. They said they were starting to see positive changes at the service with staff being more open and feeling more supported due to the appointment of a new home manager.
“We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid, widespread improvements and will continue to monitor the home closely to keep people safe during this time. We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to take further action if people aren’t receiving the care they have a right to expect.”
Inspectors found:
• Food and fluid charts were poorly completed and didn’t demonstrate that people were eating and drinking enough.
• Some staff described morale at the home as low and felt communication was poor which had resulted in feelings of uncertainty about the future.
• Diabetes care plans contained no information on how to support people with the condition.
• There were environmental risks such as people having access to a cleaning trolley which had been left unattended in an unlocked bathroom.
• Where staff raised concerns, leaders failed to provide a timely response.
• There was limited evidence of learning from leaders when things went wrong.
However:
• Staff were respectful, kind, compassionate and knew people well.
• People’s call bells were usually responded to quickly.
• During mealtimes, people needing support with meals were assisted safely and appropriately.
The report will be published on CQC’s website in the next few days.