The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Newlands Hall in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, inadequate and placed the home into special measures to protect people, following an inspection on 17 September.
Newlands Hall, run by Regency Healthcare Limited, is a residential care home providing nursing and personal care to up to 30 people, some of whom are living with dementia.
The inspection was undertaken in response to concerns CQC received from the relatives of people living at the home, about how staff were managing safety.
Following this inspection, the overall rating for the home, as well as the areas of safe, effective and well-led, have moved down from requires improvement to inadequate. The areas of caring and effective weren’t inspected so retain their previous ratings of good.
Since the inspection, the service has informed CQC that concerns have been or are in the process of being addressed.
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 has begun the process of taking regulatory action to address the concerns which Regency Healthcare Limited has the right to appeal.
Linda Hirst, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said:
“When we inspected Newlands Hall, it was concerning to see that poor leadership and ineffective risk management had led to people being placed at harm in a place they call home.
“People weren’t always receiving nutritionally balanced meals, and portion sizes were small with no snacks offered between meals. Several people had lost a significant amount of weight and were at risk of malnutrition. Leaders had failed to act on this to ensure they were protected from the risks of malnutrition, and no referrals had been made to a GP or dietician.
“Staff had raised concerns over people’s unexplained bruising and skin tears, but this had not been followed up or investigated by management. A healthcare professional had raised concerns about a person’s continence care and changes that were required, but no action had been taken by leaders which placed the person at further risk.
“It was positive that there were enough staff to support people, and when we visited an activity coordinator was chatting with people and doing a quiz in the lounge to support people’s wellbeing.
“We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid, and continued 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 use our regulatory powers further if people aren’t receiving the care they have a right to expect.”
Inspectors found:
- Leaders failed to operate systems to identify and investigate possible abuse.
- People’s medicines weren’t managed safely.
- There weren’t any systems in place to monitor, identify and act upon areas for improvement.
- Staff weren’t always recruited safely and there were gaps in some references and employment history.
- People and their relatives weren’t routinely involved in care planning.
- Staff weren’t provided with supervision to support them in their roles.
However:
- The management team were clear on infection prevention and control procedures.
- People were able to access their GP and other healthcare professionals when needed.
The report will be published on CQC’s website in the next few days.