Improvements Ordered After Market Harborough Care Home Rated ‘Inadequate’ By Inspectors
Written by HFM News on 10th February 2022
A Market Harborough care home has been ordered to make urgent improvements after being rated ‘inadequate’ by inspectors.
The Care Quality Commission carried out an unannounced inspection at Lenthall House in December, following concerns about staffing levels, recurrent falls and a lack of management oversight.
Lenthall House
The inspection report states over a 24 day period, consisting of 72 shifts, staffing numbers did not meet the requirements on 44 occasions and there was no registered manager in charge.
Staff shortages meant workers had been told to ‘focus on care tasks and only record the most important information’, meaning the home could not prove people had the care and support they required – putting people ‘at risk of deterioration in their physical and mental health’.
Inspectors also found residents, some with dementia, had access to potentially hazardous substances, such as hand sanitiser and alcohol wipes and similar concerns were also raised about the storing of medicines, some of which were left in residents’ bedrooms.
Medicines were also not always effectively administered, the report stated, with times of administration not always recorded.
However, residents and their relatives told the CQC they felt people who used the service were safe, with one relative saying: “We feel [name] is safe and is well looked after.”
The home on the southern estate has been placed into ‘special measures’ and a warning notice issued to operator, Leicestershire County Care Limited.
A CQC spokesperson said: “Due to the issues found, the rating for the care home has dropped from being good to inadequate overall, as well as being rated inadequate for being safe and well-led.
“The provider has also been issued with a warning notice requiring them to make improvements by the end of March.
“We continue to monitor the service closely and will return to check on progress to ensure that improvements have been made and embedded.
“If we find they haven’t, we will not hesitate to take action in line with our regulatory powers.”
Three other assessment areas – effective, caring and responsive – were not considered in the most recent assessment and remain ‘good’.
Leicestershire County Care Limited has been contacted for comment.
