The Care Quality Commission (CQC), has rated Bethany Homestead in Northampton as inadequate and placed it into special measures to protect people following an inspection in January.
Bethany Homestead, run by an organisation of the same name, is a care home providing personal care for up to 38 older people living with dementia, physical disabilities or sensory impairments.
The overall rating for the service, as well as for the areas of safe and effective have dropped from requires improvement to inadequate. How caring the service is has dropped from good to requires improvement. How responsive the service is has been re-rated as requires improvement, and how well-led the service has been re-rated as inadequate.
CQC found four breaches of regulation around safe environments, safeguarding, deprivation of liberty safeguards and nutrition and hydration. At the previous inspection, CQC found a breach of regulation around management and oversight which remains in place.
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 while improvements are made.
Craig Howarth, CQC Deputy Director of Operations in Northamptonshire, said:
“We were disappointed to find that the quality of service at Bethany Homestead had declined since our previous inspection. The people living at the home and their families had mixed experiences and weren’t being provided with the level of care and support they have a right to expect. Behind this was continuing poor leadership which we also found at our previous inspection.
“People and their relatives hadn’t been involved in planning or reviewing their care and treatment. Staff didn’t have enough information available to them in care plans or handovers to understand how to provide care that met people’s individual needs and preferences.
“Leaders hadn’t put systems in place to assess or manage risks, and didn’t listen to concerns about safety or investigate incidents. This meant that the home was unable to learn lessons and reduce the risk of these happening again. One example that our inspection team saw was that staff didn’t always record people’s falls to identify why this happened and keep people safe.
“Our inspection teams saw some staff communicate in an uncompassionate way. People told us that they preferred to be cared for by some staff more than others which highlighted inconsistent performance between carers which leaders should be managing. However, people living in the home told us that most staff were friendly.
“We have identified areas where Bethany Homestead needs to make urgent improvements. We will keep the home under close review and will return to check on the progress they have made.”
Inspectors found:
- Leaders failed to provide staff with the necessary training to support people safely. Leaders also hadn’t made sure that all staff had gone through essential recruitment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.
- The home couldn’t demonstrate how they acted on safeguarding concerns to protect people.
- Staff didn’t always support people who needed walking aids or supervision to move.
- The home needed to work more closely with partners so that people experienced consistent care or smoother transitions between different services.
- Leaders didn’t provide clear guidance on dietary needs to kitchen staff which meant that people were at risk of choking or receiving food and drink that was unsuitable for their health conditions.
- Bethany Homestead didn’t maintain the home’s environment to a safe standard. CQC’s inspection team identified people were at risk of harm from hot water, hot appliances, cleaning materials, cars and laundry equipment.
- Staff didn’t feel comfortable raising concerns or identifying potential improvements with leaders.
- Staff relied on email to share details of resident and relative meetings which meant that some relatives who didn’t have access to email missed these.
However:
- Some families had chosen the service for its faith provision and spoke positively about this. Where people followed other faiths, the home made sure that they were supported in this. Staff had recorded where people didn’t want to take part in religious activities.
The report will be published on CQC’s website in the coming days.