The care regulator has branded a city region care home “not safe” after finding “multiple safeguarding incidents” were not being investigated.
Halton View Care Home on Sadler Street in Widnes was graded “requires improvement” overall with an “inadequate” score for safety following a visit from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Inspectors reported that residents were “not safe and were at risk of avoidable harm” due to “ineffective processes” for protecting clients from abuse or improper treatment, and a failure to investigate or follow-up “multiple” safeguarding incidents, or report them to the local authority Halton Borough Council.
Accident and incident processes were “inadequate”, and the CQC said there was “little evidence of learning from events or action taken to improve safety”, resulting in “repeat incidents”. Medicines were “not managed safely”, and allergy information was not always recorded.
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In addition, risk assessments were not up to scratch.
Examples included a person who had suffered "multiple falls" but their assessment contained “insufficient control measures to keep the person safe and reduce their risk of further falls”.
Another client had been “involved in several physical altercations with other people living at the home” but the level or risk wasn’t reflected in their care records and there wasn’t enough information for staff on keeping residents safe from “a known risk of harm”.
The CQC noted, however, that Halton View Care Home had “responded immediately to the concerns we shared” and taken steps to update care plans as well as improve the management of medicines.
Although the home had enough staff, they were not always deployed effectively.
The CQC praised Halton View’s infection controls and visitor policies.
It said: “Staff followed good infection control practices and used personal protective equipment (PPE) to help prevent the spread of healthcare related infections.
“We observed friends and relatives visiting their loved ones during the inspection.
“Staff supported people to stay in contact with those important to them.
“Relatives told us that staff had gone above and beyond to ensure contact was maintained with their loved ones throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
“People and relatives provided many positive examples of how the home supported them in a person-centred way and described how they achieved good outcomes as a result.”
Halton View Care Home is owned by Chesterfield-based Hill Care 1 Limited.
It provides accommodation for older people including those living with dementia and can accommodate up to 64 residents.
At the time of the CQC’s inspection there were 52 people living at the home.
A Halton View Care Home spokesperson told the ECHO an action plan has already been submitted as requested by the regulator.
They said: “We are disappointed with our latest CQC inspection report and, as inspectors noted, we took immediate action to address the issues raised.
“An action plan has been submitted to the CQC covering the steps taken to ensure the high standards of care our residents, their loved ones, and we expect.
“Our highest priority is providing a safe, comfortable, and caring environment for those who reside with us, and we look forward to our next inspection report reflecting those improvements and the high quality of service we offer.”
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