CQC review leaders as inadequate at Callands Care Home

This follows a recent visit to the Callands Road home, with a report stating that repeated breaches of regulation and mitigation of risk had not been effectively managed.

Commission representatives inspected the home, which at the time provided residence for 104 people, to follow up on concerns received after a safeguarding referral to Warrington Borough Council.

During their previous visit in the summer of 2019, inspectors rated the service as ‘requiring improvement'’ after finding regulation breaches in relation to staffing and good governance.

Despite care provider HC-One completing an action plan afterwards, reviewers say not enough improvement has been made, with breaches still evident.

As such, the latest report has downgraded the home’s inspection area of ‘well-led’ from requiring improvement to inadequate. The home’s overall rating remains requiring improvement.

In their report, inspectors said: “The provider did not always have effective governance and quality assurance measures in place; systems and processes were not effectively helping to improve the quality and safety of care being delivered.

“Inconsistent leadership and oversight have meant that there has been repeated breaches of regulation and mitigation of risk has not always been effectively managed.

“The provider did not always ensure that quality performance and risk management procedures were effectively providing high-quality, safe care.

“Audit tools and home improvement plans were not sufficiently supporting areas of improvement, and in some cases had not identified the areas and concerns we identified during the inspection.”

CQC representatives went on to say that staff told them they felt valued, and while feedback from relatives suggested that they were happy with the provision of care their loved ones received, they said that communication and visiting arrangements during the pandemic could have been better.

As part of the visit, inspectors also looked at infection prevention and control measures to understand the preparedness to preventing or managing a coronavirus outbreak.

They added: “The home itself was clean, hygienic and well-maintained, although some areas such as clinic rooms and medication dispensing trolleys required attention.

“We observed safe staffing levels during the inspection and people told us they received prompt care when it was required.

“However, we did receive some mixed feedback from relatives, who expressed that the home appeared under-staffed especially during the pandemic.”

Inspectors requested an action plan from HC-One outlining what it will do to improve standards of quality and safety, with a return visit expected sooner rather than later.

Following the publication of the report, a spokesman for the home said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our residents is our number one priority, and we take all feedback from the CQC very seriously.

“We were therefore deeply disappointed by the CQC’s findings and we have a comprehensive action plan in place to address the areas for improvement.

“The implementation of this plan is being overseen by our senior regional team and significant improvements have already been made and confirmed by our quality and monitoring team.

“A highly experienced turnaround manager has been working hard, supported by a clinical quality manager to continue to make and sustain improvements at the home.

“Colleagues are also being supported by the learning and development team to carry out updated training in risk management and mitigation and are working hard to ensure all care records are as up to date as possible.

“We were heartened to hear that inspectors found that infection prevention and control measures were appropriately followed, and that the home is clean, hygienic and well-maintained.

“We are working closely with all relevant authorities and we are confident that by the time of our next inspection, the CQC will be able to see these improvements.”