A care home has been taken out of “special measures” following an inspection – but still rates as “requires improvement” overall.
Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission said Holme House Care Home at Gomersal had made sufficient progress to come out of special measures following two inspections in November and December last year.
A report said the home, which is part of Croft Care Group and has accommodation for up to 68 people, was no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the five key questions covering safety, effectiveness, care, responsiveness and leadership – but was rated as requires improvement for each of the five areas and overall.
On safety, the report said staff had received training in safeguarding people from the risk of harm or abuse and understood their responsibilities in reporting any concerns to a senior member of staff.
However, the temperature at which some medicines were stored was not always appropriate and the recording of creams was not “robust”. There was a lack of information available for staff to ensure creams were applied correctly.
People told inspectors that staff were caring, kind and treated them with dignity and respect and that the food was good.
“We saw kind caring interaction between staff and the people they supported,” said the report. “There was a range of activities provided at the home.”
At the previous inspection in February last year, it was recommended the home seek guidance with regard to end of life care planning and record keeping, but the report said this had not been implemented.
The report said not all aspects of the service were effective. The registered manager was not able to show how good practice guidance was used in the home and while staff had completed induction and received training, not all of them had received regular supervision or an annual appraisal. Records were not always stored confidentially.
The report said improvements had been made since the last inspection but there were still a number of areas where further work was needed.
James Creegan, director of care for Croft Care Group, said: “There is never any excuse for poor care.
“It is pleasing to note that improvement has been made under the new manager and although we are classed as ‘requires improvement’ much work has been done since the last inspection and we would hope this improvement continues so the next inspection will result in the home receiving a ‘good’ classification.
“We have been working in partnership with the CQC and Kirklees Council to bring the care standards back up to the level and quality we all expect.
“We believe that the hard work of all the team is paying off. This can be seen in the improvements the home has made in a relatively short time since the last inspection and this is commented upon by the inspectors in the current report and we can go forward providing the excellent care we are known for at Holme House where residents and their families are central to our care provision.”
