A care home where medicines were ‘not managed safely’ has been found to be in breach of the Health and Social Care Act and ordered to improve by inspectors. The Pemberton Fold residential facility in Little Hulton was given an overall ‘requires improvement’ rating when the Care Quality Commission (CQC) team visited the home on December 14 and 15 2022.
The home, run by Park Homes (UK) provides personal care for up to 60 people aged 65 and above. At the time of the inspection there were 50 residents.
“People’s medicines were not managed safely,” the CQC report said. “There were gaps in medicines records and staff guidance relating to ‘as required’ medicines was not always in place.
“The provider used a tool to measure people’s independence levels. However, staff felt they needed more staff. Staff were recruited safely. People were protected from the risk of abuse and told us they felt safe living at the home; relatives confirmed this.”
But it went on: “There were gaps in some people’s care planning information. Their food and fluid charts were not completed consistently and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) monitoring system was not accurate.
“We have made a recommendation regarding the best interest decision-making process.” The report said that residents were supported to have maximum choice and control over their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and ‘in their best interests’.
It said there were ongoing issues with one of two boilers and kitchen equipment. "The provider was taking action to rectify faults with the boiler and after the inspection purchased additional kitchen equipment as necessary,” the report said.
“The environment was dementia friendly with clear signage in all areas to help people orientate around the building. People told us they were well treated, and their equality and diversity were respected.”
But the report added: “We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance.
“We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standard of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we received about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.”
A spokesperson for Park Homes told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We are disappointed with the outcome of Pemberton Fold’s inspection. A new management team had taken over the service just before the inspection.
"The report does identify improvements and it is clear that the new management had not moved the service forward quickly enough to ensure the inspection outcome was' Good', although it is very clear within the report that the service only just fell short of receiving a good rating.
"We are confident that at our next inspection, the hard work and dedication of the management and the team at Pemberton Fold will be recognised and the service will be awarded the rating it deserves."
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