A Nottinghamshire care home which looks after people with learning disabilities has been rated ‘inadequate’ in an inspection following the death of a resident. Healthcare watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected Richmond Lodge in Richmond Road, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, which provides care for five people with learning disabilities, in August with the report published this month.
The service was previously rated ‘good’ in December 2019, but the CQC says it reinspected because of the death of a resident. The CQC is carrying out initial inquiries to determine whether to commence a criminal investigation – and the organisation said it will “not hesitate to take action” if the service does not improve.
It said: “The inspection was prompted in part by notification of an incident following which a person using the service died. “This incident is subject to initial inquiries to determine whether to commence a criminal investigation.
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“As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident. “However, the information shared with CQC about the incident indicated potential concerns about the management of risk.
“This inspection examined those risks.” At the time of the inspection, there was no registered manager in post at the home.
But the managing director of Blue Sky Care Ltd, which runs the home, said it hoped to return to an improved rating “as quickly as practical”. Inspectors found that people and staff were not always kept safe from harm at the home and some were injured due to incidents “caused by people’s distressed behaviours”.
The report said: “Staff told us they had to, on a few occasions, request police assistance due to the severity of the behaviours and to prevent a person from hurting themselves, other people or staff. We only spoke with one person living at the service who told us they felt safe at the service.”
The report added that some people living at the service had autism and the provider had not considered their sensory needs or any specific routines they may have. People’s hobbies, interests, daily living needs and support were also “not prioritised”.
The report added that the service had enough staff to keep people safe during the day, but there was only one member of staff working at night which marked a “potential risk of people not having their needs met”. It also said that staff knew how to protect people from poor care and abuse and the service “worked well with other agencies to do so”.
Debbie Ivanova, CQC’s director for people with learning disabilities and autistic people, said: “When we inspected Richmond Lodge, we found a service where the standard of care had deteriorated since our last inspection. People’s safety and wellbeing needs weren’t always being met, and risks weren’t effectively managed. We will continue to monitor Richmond Lodge closely to ensure people are safe.
“If we are not assured people are receiving safe care, we will not hesitate to take action.” Richard Miller, managing director at Blue Sky Care Ltd, said: “As an organisation, we are disappointed by the external regulator's assessment and as a service would have addressed any risks previously if this was identified.
“For a service previously rated as good, we wish to return it to that status and beyond as quickly as practical. We respect the assessment and will work in partnership with the commission, our local authority but most importantly the people we support, their families and the staff team to achieve our goal.”
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