Care home downgraded from 'good' to 'inadequate' - in less than a year

Layden Court was placed it into special measures “to protect people” after some had “come to harm”, the Care Quality Commission said following an inspection in November.

In a report published in January, the CQC said its visit to the Maltby home was prompted by “concerns” from Rotherham Council which included “inadequate systems to safeguard people from abuse, concerns around safe care and support, as well as ineffective management of the service.”

The overall rating for the care home – which provides personal and nursing care for older people, including those living with dementia – dropped from 'good' in March last year to 'inadequate', as have the ratings for being safe and well-led, while the category of effective declined from 'good' to 'requires improvement'.

The areas of caring and responsive were not inspected and remain 'good'.

The service, home to 49 people at the time of the inspection, is now in special measures and will be kept under close review by CQC and monitored to check for “sufficient improvements.”

As reported in the Advertiser, Layden Court celebrated leaping from 'inadequate' to 'good' last year.

The facility had previously been under threat of having its registration removed in August 2022 after CQC inspectors did not find “enough improvement” during an unannounced return visit to the home on All Hallows Drive in May and June that year.

In the most recent November 2023 inspection the watchdog did note assessments of people's care were undertaken before they moved in and staff were “kind and caring in their interactions with people, where time allowed this.”

But Jenny Wilkes, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said it was “disappointing to see such a significant shortfall of strong leadership” at the facility.

“We found leaders hadn’t implemented effective systems and processes, which meant they didn’t know when people were at risk so they could put measures in place to protect them,” she said.

“We found assessments and care plans weren’t always accurate or detailed enough for staff to safely support people.”

Clear care plans were not in place for people living with dementia and other individual care needs.

“This resulted in a high number of potentially avoidable incidents where people had come to harm,” the commission noted.

“Since the inspection, the provider was putting more training in place so staff can support staff in a safer way.”

Additionally, the provider hadn’t ensured all referrals to the local authority safeguarding team had been made or shared details with CQC.

“We have told Layden Court where we expect to see rapid and widespread improvements and will continue to monitor them closely to keep people safe during this time,” said Ms Wilkes.

“We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to take further action if people are not receiving the care they have a right to expect.”