Kilnhurst residential home still not “safe”

Dirty sinks, broken toilets and clean linens stored next to toilet bowls, causing a risk of contamination, were among the findings of a follow-up report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on Meadow View in Kilnhurst.

The commission found serious issues last summer and carried out more checks in May.

Last year, inspectors blasted poor medicine management, understaffing and low responsiveness to care needs.

Staff training left a lot to be desired, they said, with carers admitting “they had to learn as they went along”.

The CQC saw only minor improvements on findings of a previous inspection in summer 2014.

Revisiting Meadow View in May, they found shortcomings in the areas of safety, effectiveness, responsiveness and leadership.

Inspectors said medicines were now “stored and administered safely” and but added: “The service still needed some improvements to make it safe.”

The CQC said: “Systems were in place to manage infection, prevention and control, however we found these had not always been followed in practice.”

Care experts also criticised the home’s “meal time experience”, saying that meals were nutritious but “the environment did not fully meet the needs of people living with dementia”.

While the home had employed a new activities co-ordinator, they found, residents and their relatives still complained about a “lack of stimulation”.

Inspectors described the service as “well led”, but said new systems “still needed to be fully embedded into practice to ensure improvements were sustained”.

Staff told the CQC a new leadership team was “making a big difference, sorting staff out” one carer said.

A spokesman for the home, run by Amore Care, said: “We have made demonstrable improvements, which are recognised by the CQC in its report.

“We are working extremely hard to ensure residents receive the highest possible standard of care.”