A residential home has been placed in special measures following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
Meadow Court in Meal Hill Lane, Slaithwaite, which has 32 residents, was visited twice in February.
It was last inspected in February 2016 when it was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ overall. It was judged to be ‘Inadequate’ in the Safe domain, ‘Requires Improvement’ in the domains of Effective, Responsive and Well-led, and ‘Good’ in the domain of Caring.
This year’s inspection led to an overall rating as ‘Requires Improvement’. However the CQC said it was placing the home in special measures as it had been rated inadequate over two consecutive inspections.
Inspectors found that an audit process was insufficient, meaning that some care plans had not been updated. In addition fire drills had not taken place and temperatures were not monitored effectively, the latter focusing on communal bathrooms with recorded water temperatures of between 46C and 49C. Health and Safety Executive (HSE) guidance states if hot water used for showering or bathing is above 44C, the risk of serious injury or fatality is increased.
Maintenance directors took action to reduce temperatures to a safer level and instigated a regular check of water temperatures in people’s rooms.
Care staff were also found to lack knowledge around the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Training records showed not all care staff had attended training. Some staff could not describe the process of how people’s mental capacity was assessed and best interest decisions made.
The CQC pointed out that improvements had been made following the inspection in 2016. In particular over-cluttering with furniture had been dealt with and a trip hazard had been removed.
In terms of Caring the home was rated ‘Good’. Residents and relatives praised staff as kind and caring. Residents said staff respected their dignity and privacy. Staff providing end of life care were said to be “amazing.”
Stephen Humble, director of Meadow Court, said: “Every area of improvement that was identified in the report has been actioned. We sat down with the CQC and responded. They liked everything that we said.
“We welcome a return inspection in the next three to six months.
“In terms of care it’s always been excellent [at Meadow Court]. No one has been put at risk. It’s more about documentation. We are 100% confident of making the improvements required.”
