The Acacia Lodge in Barnet, North London has been rated as Inadequate and placed into special measures, by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), following an inspection in May 2015.
During the unannounced inspection, CQC found the provider was failing to provide care which was safe, effective, caring, well-led and responsive to people’s needs.
Under CQC’s programme of inspections, all adult social care services are being given a rating to help people make informed choices about their care. Overall, Acacia Lodge has been rated as Inadequate, and placed into Special Measures, which could result in the residential home being closed down if there is no improvement or action taken to address concerns.
A full report from the inspection has been published on the CQC website: www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-111570802
CQC found that the home lacked consistent and stable management which resulted in a disorganised and fragmented approach to care provision.
Poor cleanliness and infection control had previously been identified in May 2014. Despite improved infection control being identified during the most recent inspection, a number of further breaches were identified including, failure to maintain accurate and up to date care records, poor medicines management, and unsafe premises due to lack of maintenance. Inadequate window restrictors, in particular meant that service users were at risk of falling out of poorly maintained windows.
Residents were also not provided with regular access to meaningful activities that were appropriate to their needs, in order to protect them from social isolation.
Sally Warren, CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care said:
“It is essential that Acacia Lodge takes action to address the concerns we identified during the last inspection. The provider has a responsibility to ensure that people living at the home are safe and protected from the risk of harm at all times.
"When we are faced with a residential or nursing home that is failing to care for residents, our first instinct is to work with the provider to ensure that the service improves.
“We will re-inspect the home within six months to check whether sufficient improvements have been made. If sufficient improvements have not been made and there remains a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will take further action which may include cancelling the registration of the service.”
Ends
For further information please contact Yetunde Akintewe, CQC Regional Engagement Manager, on 07471 020 659. For media enquiries, call the press office on 020 7448 9401 during office hours. Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here.
For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.
Find out more
Read reports from our checks on the standards at Acacia Lodge - London.