Northumberland care home placed in special measures by CQC due to safety and staffing concerns

A care home in Northumberland has been placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following concerns over safety and staffing.

Northlands Care Home in Morpeth, which cares for disabled, elderly and people with dementia, was rated inadequate during an inspection in December 2023.

CQC said the assessment was carried out after concerns were raised about keeping people safe, providing appropriate care and staffing levels.

Parkside Care Limited, which operates the facility, said:“We have made very effective progress over the past three months,” he said, “and we hope to return to a good rating as soon as possible.”

THis home supports up to 39 people at a time and was caring for 37 people at the time of the inspection.

CQC found that there had been a number of falls and unexplained bruises in the home, which were not always identified or referred to the safeguarding team.

It also found that staff did not always help people drink enough fluids, including those who were at risk of choking or were using feeding tubes.

After this inspection, the service’s overall rating fell from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’, and its safety and effectiveness ratings also fell.

The rating for “well taught” has dropped from “needs improvement” to “inadequate.” Although this was a more focused inspection and did not include compassion or responsiveness, we continued to receive good ratings from our previous inspection.

This service is currently under special measures. This means they will continue to be closely reviewed by the CQC to keep people safe and monitored to ensure sufficient improvements have been made.

Linda Hurst, CQC’s deputy director of northern operations, said: “When we inspected Northlands Care Home, we were disappointed to see a lack of strong leadership.”

“Inefficient management structures have prevented health care providers from monitoring the quality of care being delivered and knowing where improvements are needed to safely support people.

”During our visit, we found that people are not always safe from the risk of avoidable harm.

“At the time of the inspection, the service was in organizational custody with the local authority as there were multiple concerns about the care and safety of people at home.

“We found that a large number of falls and unexplained bruises occurred at home that were not always identified, reported to protection teams in a timely manner, and lessons learned to prevent future incidents.

”We found that staff did not always support people to drink enough water. Graphs consistently show people aren’t drinking enough, and care plans include additional support to keep people safe, including those at risk of choking or those on feeding tubes. It didn’t always show me where I needed to go.

”We also found that healthcare providers did not always ensure that their staff had the skills, knowledge and experience to provide effective care and support. Local authority safeguarding teams had also highlighted areas where staff needed further training, and providers were working with staff to address issues.

”We want to reassure Northlands Care Home that we expect rapid and widespread improvements and will continue to monitor the situation closely to keep people safe while this situation continues. We will return to check on their progress and will not hesitate to take action if people are not receiving the care they expect and are entitled to. ”

Following the inspection results, a spokesperson for Parkside Care Limited said: ‘We regret that Northlands Care Home fell below the standards expected of us and the Care Quality Commission, as stated in the report. As you can see, we were currently in the process of improvement.” In addition to making improvements during the December inspection, we have hired a new, experienced quality and compliance officer to work with colleagues on a comprehensive plan to ensure necessary improvements to record-keeping and procedures are implemented and maintained. I am.

”We have made good and effective progress in the past three months since our inspection and, like other care homes within the established group, we hope to return to a ‘good’ rating as soon as possible.

“We have already taken a number of steps to rectify the issues highlighted, including reviewing resident care plans, risk assessments, audits and quality assurance.

“We would like to thank the residents and relatives who spoke to CQC during the inspection for their kind words and support. The health and safety of our residents remains our top priority.”

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