The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has taken action to remove a location from the registration of a care home provider in Northumberland, to protect the safety and welfare of people in its care.
CQC’s decision to remove Ravensmount Residential Care Home from Moorlands Holdings (NE) Limited’s registration means that they can no longer legally operate at that location.
During a series of inspections at the home on Almouth Road in Alnwick, CQC inspectors found that Moorlands Holdings (NE) Limited was failing to provide care which was safe, effective, responsive or well led.
A full report of the CQC’s latest inspection in May 2015 has been published on this website.
Inspectors identified a number of continued concerns, including:
- Many areas of the home were unsafe and posed a risk to people’s health and safety. Gas supplies to the home’s kitchen had been disconnected in January 2015 due to concerns over safety of the system and a key pad lock to the building remained broken allowing unmonitored access to the home.
- Some fire doors did not shut fully making them ineffective at holding back smoke in the event of a fire.
- Appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene were not consistently maintained.
- The provider did not have an effective system in place to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.
- Care and treatment was not planned and delivered in a way that ensured people's safety and welfare. Care records were not reviewed and in some cases included contradictory information regarding people’s needs.
On 27 April 2015 CQC served a Notice of Decision under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 to remove Ravensmount Residential Care Home from the providers' registration. Moorlands Holdings (NE) Limited is no longer registered to operate a care home at that location.
Since the last inspection in May 2015, the home has been taken over by a new provider who is operating the home under the revised name of Ravensmount Care Home.
Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care at CQC, said:
“People are entitled to services which provide safe, effective, compassionate and high quality care and Moorlands Holdings (NE) Limited has failed the residents of Ravensmount Residential Nursing Home.
“The provider was placing people at significant risk of receiving inappropriate or unsafe care and made no attempt to address the issues we identified. For this reason we had no option but to remove the location from their registration.”
"Since these concerns were first raised, we have been working closely with Northumberland County Council and Northumberland Safeguarding Adults Team.
“A new provider, Touray & Co Limited, has successfully applied to take over the running of the home allowing all nine residents to remain at the premises. We will monitor the new provider’s progress in actioning the necessary improvements to ensure that residents receive the quality of care they are entitled to expect.”
Ends
For further information please contact Kirstin Hannaford on 0191 2333629 or David Fryer on 07901 514220
For media enquiries about the Care Quality Commission, please 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. (Please note: the duty press officer is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters). For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61.
Find out more
Read our reports on Ravensmount Residential Care Home.
We will monitor the new provider's progress ... to ensure that residents receive the quality of care they are entitled to expect.
Debbie Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care