Telford care home staff 'working hard' to rectify issues after 'inadequate' rating

The Old School House in Madeley, Telford, received an inspection in October by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and received a rating of ‘inadequate’ in four of the five key areas which looked at if the services provided were: safe, effective, responsive and well-led.

When inspectors looked to see if the service provided was caring, they found it ‘requires improvement’.

During a previous inspection of the home, ran by Eeze Old School House Ltd, in May 2022 the service was found to ‘require improvement’ due to breaches of regulations regarding consent, person centred care and how the service was managed.

“The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve,” inspectors commented.

“At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations and we found additional concerns and breaches including safety and protecting people from the risk of abuse.

“The provider had a poor history of meeting regulation. This is the fourth inspection since March 2022 where the provider has been in breach of regulations including regulation 17 governance.

“The provider failed to drive improvements at The Old School House. When they have completed spot checks or quality checks, they have failed to ensure improvements are then driven by the management team.”

A spokesman for Eeze Old School House Ltd said that the management has changed at the home since the October inspection, the findings of which have been released recently.

“We had a follow up inspection on December 18, 2023, where our team has been working really hard and has come out of all the points on warning notice,” said the spokesman.

“There will be an added second day inspection again in January to rate our service again. As it stands, there is no actions pending from the October 2023 warning notices and our service is safe.

“Thanks to our team who all are committed to make a difference, residents, families and professional support.

“Our new report should be published very soon, and we are looking forward to a great new year.”

At the time of the October inspection the Old School House was providing personal care for three people, the service can support up to seven people.

Inspectors found that users were supported by enough staff at the home, but there was ‘little direction on how to effectively engage and stimulate people’.

They said: “Although The Old School House is a smaller building, part of a local community, people still did not always have the opportunity to gain new skills or experience new things.

“People were not supported by staff to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence. The completion of mental capacity assessments was inconsistent and did not follow best practice.

“Although staff could tell us what mattered to people on a day to day basis, like food choices or drinks and leisure activities, there was little understanding of goals or aspirations.”

When questioned by inspectors relatives felt that staff were ‘kind and approachable’.

One relative said: “The staff themselves as individuals are great. They are kind and approachable and I know they want the best for (service user). I think they treat them with dignity and they do respect them as an individual.”

However, inspectors found that users were ‘not safe from the risks of avoidable harm’.

“The management team and the provider’s quality checks failed to identify and correct issues with the physical environment which put people at the risk of avoidable harm, including but not limited to, exposed hot water pipes, unrestricted window openings and open access to electrical systems. This put people at the risk of harm from avoidable incidents,” the report added.

Inspectors also found that the home users privacy and dignity ‘was not respected’ by the management team.

“The provider had introduced CCTV in communal areas,” they added. “None of the staff or the management team could tell us who is able to actively watch the CCTV or in what circumstances this is monitored.”