MEDICINES were not managed safely at a local care home which cares for people with dementia, an investigation by the Care Quality Commission has found.
The CQC carried out an inspection of Thurnscoe’s Dearnlea Park Residential Home under section 60 of the health and social care act.
The service was told it requires improvement in each of the three key questions - is the service safe, is the service effective and is the service well-led?
The home can care for up to 67 people over two floors of a purpose-built building - though at the time of inspection only 41 people were using the service.
At its last CQC inspection, the home was also told it requires improvement - and nothing has changed in that respect since November 2021.
The latest report said: “Medicines were not managed safely.
“We were not assured of staff competency in this area.
“There was not always guidance for staff on how to administer medicines safely.
“People's care records did not accurately reflect their needs.
“Risks to people had not been fully assessed and there was limited guidance for staff on how best to manage these risks.
“There were no effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the services provided.
“The provider had failed to keep oversight of the service.
“Not all staff were provided with an induction and relevant training to make sure they had the right skills and knowledge for their role.
“There were systems in place to recognise and respond to any allegations of abuse.
“Safe recruitment procedures made sure staff were of suitable character and background.
“There were enough staff deployed to meet people's care and support needs in a timely way.”
However, it wasn’t all negative - as the inspectors praised some of the aspects of the home.
“We saw staff were kind and caring in their interactions with people,” the report said.
“They clearly knew people well.
“People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
“People told us they enjoyed the food served at Dearnlea Park Residential Care Home.
“People were encouraged to maintain good health and have access to health and social care services.
“The registered manager had been in post since January 2023 and staff told us they were supportive.”
