People in a South Liverpool care home were at risk of malnutrition and dehydration while medications were not handled correctly, a care report has found.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has placed Cressington Court Care Home on Beechwood Road into special measures after a litany of concerns were raised around medicine, staffing and clinical care. These included one person not being bathed for four weeks as staff said “they didn’t have time” and another losing more than six stone in a six-month period.
Following an inspection in March and April the home’s overall rating has been deemed inadequate. The safety, effectiveness, care and leadership of the service has also been called inadequate having already required improvement.
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The service’s responsiveness rating has dropped from good to inadequate. At the time of the inspection, 47 people were in situ at the residential care home that provides support for those with physical disabilities and dementia.
Those with nursing needs have since been moved to alternative locations following an agreement with Cressington Court, the CQC and other partner organisations. Inspectors found that residents’ needs were not effectively assessed or reviewed, while not all staff were said to have the skills and experience to provide safe, responsive and effective care and treatment.
It was said that residents were not always protected from risk of harm, including not always receiving prescribed medication. Accidents and incidents weren’t effectively managed to prevent further incidents, and lessons weren’t always learnt nor was support given for people to “make informed decisions about end of life care in a person-centred or timely way.”
Hayley Moore, CQC’s head of adult social care inspection, said: “During our inspection, we found a service that wasn’t well-led and the provider failed to make sure people received the person-centred, high quality care and treatment they deserve. We were very worried about people’s safety for a number of reasons.
“A significant number of people were at risk of malnutrition and dehydration, with one person losing more than six stone in a six-month period. These issues were also raised by other healthcare professionals however, the provider hadn’t taken any action to address these concerns.
“Medicines weren’t being managed well, and one person hadn’t consistently received their prescribed daily medicine for a month, putting them at serious risk. Aside from the safety issues we found, this wasn’t a dignified or caring place for people to call home.
“One person hadn’t been bathed for four weeks as staff said they didn’t have time, and agency staff failed to take into account people’s individual needs and preferences. Environmental issues were also having a serious impact on people.
“We saw someone in a lot of pain, who couldn’t ask for pain relief as the call bell was faulty. The manager knew about this but hadn’t repaired it which is totally unacceptable.
“During the inspection, the provider acted on some issues with the environment, however more urgent improvements are needed to keep people safe.”
Cressington Court will now be closely monitored and re-inspected by the CQC within six months to assess whether improvements have been made. If sufficient improvements are not made within that time, further action will be taken.
Elaine Larkin, regional director at Lotus Care, who owns and operates Cressington Court care home, said: "As an organisation we are hugely disappointed following the findings of the latest inspection from CQC . We have been working closely with the CQC, the council and health partners for a number of weeks on providing assurance and improvement.
"A key focus has been to support the residents, families, and staff during this stressful time. Our organisation wants to give assurance that we are fully committed in making these improvements and will learn from when we get things wrong.
"We continue to have great pride and compassion when caring for the vulnerable residents in our care and are strengthening our processes in order to demonstrate sustainable improvement."
