The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Rowan Garth Care Home in Liverpool as inadequate and placed it into special measures to protect people following an inspection in June.
Rowan Garth Care Home, run by Wellington Healthcare (Arden) Ltd provides accommodation for up to 150 older people who require nursing or personal care. CQC carried out the inspection based on intelligence it held about the service and people being potentially placed at risk. At the time of CQC’s assessment 82 people lived in the home.
During CQC’s inspection, due to the level of concerns found, inspectors issued two warning notices to focus Rowan Garth’s attention on making immediate improvements regarding safe care and treatment, and how the service is managed. CQC has also placed the home into special measures, which involves close monitoring to ensure people are safe while these improvements are made.
CQC has downgraded the home's overall rating from requires improvement to inadequate. Safe, effective and well-led have been rated as inadequate, and responsive and caring have been rated as requires improvement.
Andrew Peck, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said:
"When we inspected Rowan Garth, we found serious failings in leadership that placed people at unnecessary risk of harm. Leaders weren’t managing the service well, meaning people weren’t receiving the safe and person-centred care they deserved.
"Our inspectors saw that staff didn’t manage medicines safely, with some people receiving time-critical medications hours late. This is especially serious for people with conditions like Parkinson's disease, where timing is vital.
"Leaders didn’t ensure the environment was safe and we saw broken equipment and inadequate facilities. The call bell system wasn’t fit for purpose and although the provider had been aware of this for over six months, no effective action had been taken to ensure people were able to call for staff help when needed.
"Whilst we found staff were kind and caring, they weren't supported by leaders to deliver safe care. Leaders also didn’t ensure staffing levels were sufficient, meaning people often experienced delays in receiving support.
“We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid, and continued improvements and will continue to monitor the home closely to keep people safe during this time. We have begun the process of taking regulatory action in order to protect people further.”
Inspectors found:
- People’s needs and risks weren’t properly assessed meaning they could be placed at risk of unsafe care.
- Staff sometimes didn’t have time to meet people’s personal hygiene needs, including supporting people with changing their continence pads.
- Staff didn’t tailor people’s care plans to their individual needs and didn’t consider their aspirations, culture, unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.
- Leaders didn’t have the skills, knowledge, experience and credibility to lead effectively to ensure people received appropriate care.
However, inspectors also found:
- People and staff said unit managers were approachable and friendly if they had any concerns.
- People said staff supported them to do things for themselves where they were able, for example to wash and dress.