Yahoo News Safety 'breaches' at Southport care home putting 'vulnerable patients at risk'
A care home in Southport has been placed into special measures after being told it needs to make improvements.
Assured Care was rates as inadequate at the start of the year in a damning report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The report exposed a litany of 'significant' failures which put vulnerable patients at risk.
Increased risk of errors in the administration of medication was one of the significant failures, giving the care home the lowest rating a service can get. Assured Care offers domiciliary care for 49 people and staff are required to visit people in their homes and provide personal support.
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It has been subjected to CQC scrutiny since being placed into special measures including the latest assessment between 14 August to 10 September. However, the latest report shows a marked improvement and it has since been taken out of special measures, the ECHO reports.
As a result, the care home's rating was also improved to 'requires improvement' and awarded 'good' for three out of five assessment areas, including the caring and effectiveness categories.
The CQC report stated: "Significant improvements had been made to demonstrate people were receiving safe care through detailed and up to date risk assessments and care planning.
"People were involved in the design and review of their care, and this was clearly documented. People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends and to pursue social and leisure activities which were of interest to them. There were enough staff to meet peoples needs and staff had received appropriate training."
Patients were noted to have general happiness and satisfaction in the care home, enjoying the 'attentiveness' and 'reliability' of staff. Staff were also praised for their flexibility in addressing their needs and sowing 'dignity' and 'respect'.
A spokesperson for Assured Care Southport said: "Further to the ‘inadequate’ CQC report at the end of last year, we instigated a series of wide-ranging improvements which have been recognised by the latest inspection. We are delighted to have achieved an updated and improved inspection report with all statutory notices now removed."
However, further safety improvements are needed at the care home. The report added: "We found two breaches of the legal regulations.
"Aspects of medicines management were still not always fully managed safely. Although governance systems had improved since our last inspection, some areas needed further development.
"For example, systems to ensure accidents and incidents were appropriately recorded, reported and analysed still needed to be more robust. Further work was needed to fully embed improvements which had been started to evidence safe recruitment."
The spokesperson for Assured Care Southport added: "We will continue to work together with the CQC to achieve 'good' ratings in all five assessment categories.”
