Northampton care home handed warning by CQC after failing to make necessary improvements

A Northampton care home has been issued a warning by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after failing to make necessary improvements.

Southfields House maintained its 'requires improvement' rating from the national health watchdog following a two-day part inspection in August.

The Farmhill Road nursing home breached rules around the recording of risks to patients and medicines, according to a report published on September 22.

"The provider had quality control systems in place however, they were not effective as required improvements had not been made in a timely way," the report says.

Southfields House, which was rated 'requires improvement' overall in November, 2019, was re-inspected for just two out of five areas partly 'due to concerns about the management of medicines and pressure area care'.

Inspectors found improvements from November had not been made and the guidance for staff required further development to ensure people received their medicines as prescribed.

"The provider did not always learn lessons when things went wrong; where audits had identified errors, action plans had not resulted in enough improvement," the report says.

"Risks to people had not been effectively assessed and recorded, the provider had not maintained effective oversight of risks to people's health and well being.

"This included risks in relation to eating and drinking, pressure area care, hot water and fire."

Southfields House patients were false at risk from food not being stored properly and recruitment procedures were not robust enough.

However, inspectors received positive feedback from patients and their families about the staff and their care while workers said they felt supported by their managers.

Northamptonshire County Council, which is responsible for the care home, has been approached for comment.