Two Staffordshire care homes ordered to improve after inspectors flag up series of safety concerns
Two care homes in Staffordshire which look after people with learning difficulties have been told to improve after safety concerns.
Both Mr & Mrs P Wilson on Eccleshall Road in Stafford and the Royal Mencap Society run home on Lawnswood Avenue in Burntwood have been rated 'requires improvement' by CQC inspectors.
The Stafford home received 'requires improvement' in all five areas it was inspected in – including care, responsiveness, effectiveness, safeness and how well it is being led.
The report found that care did not always meet people's current care needs when their needs changed but the registered manager knew people well and sought advice from other professionals when they required support.
It also found the service was not consistently caring and the relationship between the provider and person was strained .
The inspection reads: "The service was not consistently safe. Risks to the person were assessed and minimised, however the provider was not managing to meet the person's needs in relation to their anxieties.
"There were enough staff to keep the person safe. Medicines were stored and administered safely.
This inspection took place on March 7.
Manager, Patricia Wilson said: "I've been registered for 20 years, and have always had really good reviews. I've done everything I can, needs change, and I wasn't impressed with the report. I run myself 24/7 around them. I do everything I'm supposed to do, so to read that was upsetting."
At the Burntwood home, the inspection on February 25, found that improvements needed to be made to make it safer, more effective and well-led – while it was rated as good in areas of 'responsive' and 'caring'.
The report stated that the number of staff available to care for people had not been planned around their level of need by the provider.
The environment was also reported to have not been clean and well maintained to ensure people were safe and not at risk of cross infection.
Spokesman Jonathan Caleb-Landy said: "Mencap takes any requirements to improve the quality of support we provide to people with a learning disability very seriously. Immediately following the inspection, we took steps to begin rectifying this."
