A learning disability centre has been branded 'inadequate' by a watchdog after investigators found it 'did not provide safe care'. LANCuk, in Heywood, was 'not well led' and could not 'mitigate the possible misuse of prescriptions' - as well as having a 'two-month backlog of letters for GPs and patients which could delay people’s care and treatment and put them at risk'.
LANCuk (Learning Assessment and Neurocare Centre) provides assessment and treatment for both children and adults for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism. The site, in Adelaide Street, was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) at the end of March and early April - after previous visit last October, when the service was rated inadequate and placed in special measures.
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In the damming report, the CQC revealed: "Two patients we spoke with, experienced difficulties with the prescribing process which resulted in them being without medicines for two weeks until staff eventually dropped their prescription off for them."
"The service did not manage patient safety incidents well. Staff did not recognise incidents and report them appropriately. Managers did not fully investigate incidents and share lessons learned with the whole team and the wider service," it added.
The two-month backlog of letters meant patients and their GPs were not informed of the outcome of their appointment in a timely fashion. The appointments could have been for a diagnosis where the outcome letter was crucial for support and reasonable adjustments, said the CQC.
Following this latest inspection, 'insufficient improvements had been made regarding safe care and treatment as well as governance', said the watchdog. The CQC is now using enforcement powers to impose conditions on LANCuk, meaning staff cannot admit any patients to the medicine prescribing service without prior written agreement from CQC.
The overall rating for LANCuk Heywood remains inadequate. The ratings for the safe and well-led categories of the inspection also remain rated as inadequate. However, the being effective and caring categories remain rated as good, and being responsive improved from requires improvement to good.
Brian Cranna, CQC’s head of hospital inspection, said: “When inspectors returned to LANCuk Heywood, it was disappointing to see that its leadership team hadn’t taken the necessary action to remedy the concerns raised during the last inspection.
“We remained concerned that there was no oversight of the prescription management process to prevent the possible misuse of medications. Thorough checks should be carried out before increasing the dose of medicines which wasn’t happening.
“The service had three different systems where care records were stored which made it difficult for staff to keep track. In addition, there was a two-month backlog of letters for GPs and patients which could delay people’s care and treatment and put them at risk.
“Patients told us getting through to the service was challenging and sometimes messages weren’t being passed on or calls returned. They also said that seeing different clinicians on each visit wasn’t ideal as they felt like they were explaining their story repeatedly. Patients would benefit from knowing the time scales and what to expect in between appointments.
“Multidisciplinary meetings hadn’t taken place and key information wasn’t always shared with clinicians. This meant staff weren’t given the opportunity as a team to discuss any updates or learn from incidents.
“We were pleased to see however, that the service had introduced an incidents and complaints database which has clear records to support any decision making and learning.
“Leaders now understand where improvements must be made, and we’ll continue to monitor the service closely to ensure people are safe. If we’re not assured people are receiving safe care, we will not hesitate to take further action.”
In response to the CQC report, LANCuk told the Manchester Evening News it has recently employed an Interim Manager 'who is currently working closely with the CQC and CCG to implement the recommended actions'.
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