Northampton care home owners look for takeover as watchdog implements special measures due to concerns around safety including choking risks

Bethany Homestead, in Kingsley Road, which can care for up to 38 older people, was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) between 21 and 29 January this year.

On Friday (May 2), the CQC published its inspection report, which rated the care home as “inadequate” and placed it in special measures, due to a number of regulation breaches, including around safe environments, safeguarding, deprivation of liberty safeguards and nutrition and hydration.

The home, which also offers supported living, is run as a not-for-profit and has provided 100 years of Christian care home provision. The trustee board for the organisation “strongly refute” the CQC’s conclusion and say the “increased regulatory burden” has led to them searching for a new organisation to take over the home.

In the CQC’s report, inspectors say leaders had not made sure that all staff had gone through all essential recruitment checks, including DBS checks. They also said staff did not always support people who needed walking aids or supervision to move and that leaders did not provide clear guidance on dietary needs to kitchen staff, which meant that people were at risk of choking or receiving food and drink that was unsuitable for their health conditions.

Inspectors also said they identified that people were at risk of harm from hot water, hot appliances, cleaning materials, cars and laundry equipment.

However, inspectors said that some families had chosen the service for its faith provision and where some people followed other faiths, the home made sure they were supported. Staff also recorded where people did not want to take part in religious activities.

The trustees at the care home say the standard of care has been “widely acknowledged by residents and their families over the years” as “good”. They also say a new manager was appointed 12 months ago and, since then, “substantial efforts” have been made to “satisfy” the CQC’s regulatory requirements.

Despite this, the CQC says “urgent improvements” need to be made and that the care home will now be kept under “close review”.

Craig Howarth, CQC Deputy Director of Operations in Northamptonshire, said: “We were disappointed to find that the quality of service at Bethany Homestead had declined since our previous inspection. The people living at the home and their families had mixed experiences and weren’t being provided with the level of care and support they have a right to expect. Behind this was continuing poor leadership which we also found at our previous inspection.

“People and their relatives hadn’t been involved in planning or reviewing their care and treatment. Staff didn’t have enough information available to them in care plans or handovers to understand how to provide care that met people’s individual needs and preferences.

“Leaders hadn’t put systems in place to assess or manage risks, and didn’t listen to concerns about safety or investigate incidents. This meant that the home was unable to learn lessons and reduce the risk of these happening again. One example that our inspection team saw was that staff didn’t always record people’s falls to identify why this happened and keep people safe.

“Our inspection teams saw some staff communicate in an uncompassionate way. People told us that they preferred to be cared for by some staff more than others which highlighted inconsistent performance between carers which leaders should be managing. However, people living in the home told us that most staff were friendly.

“We have identified areas where Bethany Homestead needs to make urgent improvements. We will keep the home under close review and will return to check on the progress they have made.”

A statement from the home’s trustees said: “The CQC have given Bethany several poor reports over the last 10 years and, despite all the improvement work done by consultants and the new manager, the latest report (due to be issued May 2) still grades our efforts as inadequate.

“We strongly refute this conclusion, but have no meaningful path to challenging the CQC as a small independent in the onerous regulatory environment detailed above.

“The trustees have therefore resolved that we will try to preserve care provision on the site,

keep most of the staff employed and cause as little disruption as possible to existing

residents by seeking another organisation to take over the operation of the care home.”

The most recent CQC report will be published on the watchdog’s website in the coming days.