Archived: Gledhow Lodge

Updated 20 May 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors and a specialist advisor with a background in nursing and governance.

Service and service type

This service is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the general manager and care workers. We conducted a short observational framework for inspections (SOFI), which is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care records and multiple medication records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, quality assurance processes and health and safety records were reviewed.

After the inspection

We requested the provider submit an urgent action plan with responses to our concerns. We also requested the provider send us additional evidence which we have used to inform our findings.

Updated 20 May 2020

About the service

Gledhow Lodge is a care home providing accommodation and personal care. The home is registered to support up to 25 older people, at the time of this inspection the home were supporting. 12 people. Prior to our inspection the provider had made CQC aware they had made the decision to close and were working with the local authority to minimise as much as possible the impact, on people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Governance and quality assurance systems and processes were inadequate in providing ongoing monitoring and driving improvement at the service. The registered manager and provider did not have effective oversight of the service. We identified a breach of regulation in this area.

Health and safety checks were not always carried out, and key safety recommendations from West Yorkshire Fire Service were not always followed up which put people at risk of avoidable harm. We identified a breach of regulation in this area.

Systems and processes around monitoring staff training, competency and ongoing support were not adequate to ensure staff had the right training and support to meet people’s needs. We identified a breach of regulation in this area.

Care records and planning did not always evidence that people had their oral hygiene needs met and there was limited assurance from our observations people’s needs were being met. We identified a breach of regulation in this area.

People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Policies and systems at the service did not support this and Staff did not always support people in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests.

People were provided with food that was nutritious, and people were offered choices that suited their preferences and met their cultural needs.

People were supported to access health and social care services to ensure their healthcare needs were met.

People and their relatives said staff were kind and caring, and staff protected people’s privacy, dignity and independence.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 9 February 2019) and there were two breaches of regulation identified. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found that the provider was still in breach of regulations, furthermore additional breaches were identified.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

The overall rating for this service is 'Inadequate' and the service is therefore in 'special measures'. This means we will keep the service under review and, if we do not propose to cancel the provider's registration, we will re-inspect within 6 months to check for significant improvements. If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe and there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall rating, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures. This will mean we will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service.

This will usually lead to cancellation of their registration or to varying the conditions the registration. For adult social care services, the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it. And it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.