Archived: Morvern Care Centre

Updated 4 June 2021

The inspection

This was a targeted inspection to check whether people living at Morvern Care Centre were safe from the risk of fire. A joint visit was undertaken with two Fire Safety inspectors from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.

Inspection team

This inspection was undertaken by one inspector.

Service and service type

Morvern Care Centre 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. The registered manager was not present at the time of our inspection.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. This was because we arranged a joint visit with the Lancashire and Fire Rescue Service inspectors, which required the presence of the provider’s representative.

What we did before inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We reviewed information we had received about fire safety at the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and the local authority. We used all this information to plan our inspection. We requested information from the provider prior to the inspection and this information was used as part of the inspection plan.

During the inspection

We spoke with two members of staff and the appointed consultant representing the provider. We reviewed all records relating to the management of fire safety; including policies and procedures. We looked at records relating to staffing levels and the training of staff in relation to fire safety.

We also carried out a visual inspection of the building with the Fire Safety inspectors. This was to ensure Morvern Care Centre complied with fire safety law.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We continued to speak with Lancashire Fire and Rescue service about our findings.

Updated 4 June 2021

About the service

Morvern Care Centre is a residential care home registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 60 people aged 65 and over. At the time of inspection there were no people living there.

The care home comprised of three hotels converted into a residential accommodation on three floors. There were three separate units, two of which had been joined to support people living with dementia.

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

This inspection identified continued substantial and widespread failings in respect of the environment; the premises and equipment and in respect of fire safety arrangements. Systems and processes had not been considered and improved in preparation to reopen the premises.

Whilst action had been taken since the September 2020 inspection, no further action had been taken since people were relocated in December 2020. The premises had been assessed in January 2021 for fire safety, however the risk remained substantial and was inhabitable at the time of this inspection.

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 inadequate (published 24 November 2020) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. At this inspection we found some actions had been addressed however the provider remained in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this targeted inspection to review the current situation at Morvern Care Centre following two inspections at the location in September and December 2020. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this targeted inspection and remains inadequate.

CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.

We have identified breaches at this inspection in relation to safe care and treatment, premises and equipment and good governance.

Since the inspection visit to Morvern Care Centre on 22 April 2021, there has been a change to the provider’s registration with CQC. CQC has cancelled the provider’s registration.