A York care home has failed to meet the safety and quality standards required by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the eight time in a row.
The Lodge in Heslington has again been judged as requiring improvement and is in breach of regulations, according to the watchdog.
Inspectors visited the home, which provides support for up to 30 people aged 65 and over and people living with dementia, on two occasions in May of this year.
As was the case last year, the service requires improvement to be considered safe, but inspectors found a decline in standards of leadership and said this element was now inadequate.
“This meant there were widespread and significant shortfalls in service leadership,” according to the latest CQC report. “Leaders and the culture they created did not assure the delivery of high-quality care.”
The provider, which is Colourscape Investments Limited, “continued to lack understanding of their roles and responsibilities”, the report said, and there several incidents which related to allegations of abuse were not reported to the CQC.
At the time of the unannounced inspection there was not a registered manager in post.
Residents at risk of harm
Whilst no evidence was found that people had been harmed, people were placed at risk of harm “by the failure to assess and mitigate risk to people’s health, safety and wellbeing”, as well as “the failure to ensure the proper and safe management of medicines.”
Shortfalls found during the inspection included fire safety, infection control, medicines and records. Monitoring of care plans had failed to identify risks associated with people’s care and care needs had not always been identified or managed well.
Additionally, documentation was not always complete, accurate or up to date, so inspectors could not be assured people were receiving the correct care.
However, the CQC said that staff were kind and attentive to people. Most feedback from people and their relatives about the care provided was positive and staff felt supported in their roles, according to inspectors.
“People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests,” they added.
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After the inspection, inspectors sought assurances from the provider, made a referral to the City of York Council’s safeguarding team and referred fire safety concerns to the fire service.
The Lodge has now been judged to either be inadequate or require improvement for the last eight consecutive inspections.
Neither The Lodge nor Colourscape Investments Limited responded to requests for comment.