Archived: Newlands Residential Home

Updated 10 November 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the registered person is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 03 and 08 June 2016 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors. We met and spoke with five people living at the service. We spoke with seven care staff, the cook and the provider.

We looked at how people were supported with their daily routines and activities and assessed if people’s needs were being met. We reviewed five care plans and associated risk assessments. We looked at a range of other records, including staff rotas and training schedules. We also looked at medicines records and observed people receiving their medicines.

We did not ask the provider to complete a Provider Information Return because we carried out this focused inspection at short notice. This form asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

Before the inspection we spoke with staff from the Kent local authority and had information from community nurses about what they had found when they visited the service. We reviewed information we held about the service and looked at previous inspection reports and notifications received by CQC. Notifications are information we receive from the service when a significant events happen, like a death or a serious injury.

We last inspected Newlands Residential Home in February 2016 when we found one new breach and five continued breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. We are taking enforcement action against the providers Uday Kumar and Kiranjit Juttla-Kumar to protect the health, safety and welfare of people using this service.

Updated 10 November 2016

The inspection took place on 03 and 08 June 2016 and was unannounced.

Newlands Residential Home provides care for up to 17 older people some of whom may be living with dementia. The service is situated on the seafront at Walmer, near Deal, with accommodation on two floors. At the time of the inspection there were 10 people living at the service.

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 17 February 2016. After that inspection we received concerns in relation to the safe care and treatment of people living at Newlands Residential Home. As a result we undertook a focused inspection to look into those concerns. This report only covers our findings on those concerns. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Newlands Residential Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

There was no registered manager at the service. The service had been without a registered manager for over five years even though a condition of the provider’s registration is that there should be a registered manager. The provider was fully aware of their responsibility to have a registered manager because the condition was recorded on their registration certificate dated 29 September 2010. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The provider was present on the first day of the inspection.

People were not consistently protected from avoidable harm. Accidents and incidents were not accurately recorded and prompt action was not taken to reduce the risks of further events.

Risks to people had not always been identified and assessed. When guidance was in place for staff to follow they had not consistently followed this to ensure people were safe. When staff had received advice from health care professionals this had not been consistently followed.

The premises and grounds of the service were not adequately maintained to ensure people’s safety. Paths leading from fire doors were not clear for people to move through safely.

There were insufficient numbers of staff deployed and there were shortfalls in staff training. Staff did not have the skills and competencies to recognise when people needed further medical attention.

There was no manager to provide oversight and scrutiny of the day to day running of the service and the quality of the service delivered.

People received their medicines safely and were protected against the risks associated with the unsafe use and management of medicines.

People told us that they felt safe living at the service. People looked comfortable with other people, staff and in the environment. People said they would speak with the staff if they had any concerns.

This focused inspection has been carried out within six months of a comprehensive inspection. In line with CQC methodology the rating has been reviewed.

The overall rating for this provider is ‘Inadequate’. This means that it has been placed into ‘Special measures’ by CQC. The purpose of special measures is to:

• Ensure that providers found to be providing inadequate care significantly improve.

• Provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and work with, or signpost to, other organisations in the system to ensure improvements are made.

Services placed in special measures will be inspected again within six months. The service will be kept under review and if needed could be escalated to urgent enforcement action.

We found four continued breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. We are taking enforcement action against the providers Uday Kumar and Kiranjit Juttla-Kumar to protect the health, safety and welfare of people using this service.