Kettering care home service 'not safe' with residents experiencing 'distress', 'unexplained bruises', and left 'hungry, in pain’ and ‘worried'
A Kettering care home has been stopped from admitting new residents after Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors believed people were at the risk of harm.
Olive Row Care Home in Alfred Street, Kettering had been rated in February as good but following an assessment a month later prompted by concerns raised by relatives, an emergency inspection dropped the grade to inadequate – the lowest ranking.
The residential care home, run by Northamptonshire Care Limited, has the capacity to provide personal and nursing care for to up to 54 people with 40 residents in the home at the time of the re-inspection.
Inspectors concluded that the home was 'not safe' with some residents experiencing 'distress', they had 'unexplained bruises' on their bodies, and some who had no relatives said they were left 'hungry’, ‘in pain’, ‘worried' and their needs were not understood.
Craig Howarth, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said: “When we assessed Olive Row Care Home, it was concerning to see a lack of strong leadership, and the culture they created didn’t provide high-quality care. This was affecting people living at the home because there weren’t good enough processes in place to enable staff to provide safe, dignified care.
“We found people weren’t always safeguarded from abuse. Staff failed to record or report all incidents to the safeguarding team. For example, people had bruises that weren’t consistent with what had been recorded and there wasn’t evidence of any follow up investigation reported to find out what happened.
“We found the provider and staff didn’t support people to get out of bed for days at a time, putting them at risk of worsening mobility. One person told us they’d been in bed so long, that when they do get the chance to get out of bed, they get tired quickly and their back feels weaker. Another person told us they would need physiotherapy to get strong enough to use their wheelchair again.
“Additionally, we found staff didn’t always treat people with kindness, compassion and dignity. One person told us, when they asked staff to support them to use the toilet, staff told them to relieve themselves while they were in their bed. We saw another person constantly calling out for staff which was ignored. No one checked on the person, even though they had a medical condition which could cause pain, but they weren’t given regular pain relief.
“What we found at this assessment was completely unacceptable. Following the issues we identified, we've taken action and placed conditions on the home, to stop the home from admitting any more people until we can see improvements have been made.
“We will continue to monitor the service closely to keep people safe while they make improvements. We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to take further action if people are not receiving the care they have a right to expect.”
The new assessment was prompted in part due to concerns CQC received about poor care and lack of effective management at the service.
Following this assessment, as well as the homes’ overall rating dropping from good to inadequate, as have its ratings for being safe and effective. Its ratings for being caring, responsive and well-led have dropped from good to requires improvement.
The CQC has imposed urgent conditions to stop any new admissions at the service, as it believed people were at the risk of harm.
It will be kept under close review by the CQC to keep people safe and it will continue to monitor to ‘check sufficient improvements’ are being made, promising further action if ‘rapid and widespread improvements’ are not seen.
Inspection findings:
- The provider failed to have processes to ensure that learning happened when things went wrong
- Equipment designed to support peoples’ needs and to keep people safe was not always being used appropriately
- People received care from staff that had not received the training and supervision required to carry out their role
- The provider failed to manage medicines safely
- People’s needs had not always been assessed or reviewed. People’s risk assessments and care plans did not reflect peoples’ current needs.
- Staff did not always communicate well with people, which left people feeling frustrated and not listened to.
- People were not in control of the planning of their care and support.
Noma Johwa, compliance manager (on behalf of Northamptonshire Care Homes Limited), said: “Northamptonshire Care Homes Limited purchased Olive Row Care Home in 2021 when the previous provider closed the home down.
"Having received two CQC Good Rating during previous inspections, we are disappointed with the initial findings by the CQC following the latest inspection which took place in March 2024.
"We are taking this matter very seriously and have taken prompt action to address matters raised. The senior management team is working hard to address the concerns raised by CQC.
"We have also engaged the services of external care consultants to assist us with the development and implementation of a robust improvement plan.
“The improvement plan has been shared with CQC and the local authority with regular updates being provided.
"We have been working closely with the local authority, who are visiting the home regularly to monitor progress, and continue to provide appropriate reassurances to all relevant bodies.
“The health, safety and welfare of our residents is our utmost priority. We are committed to providing a good quality service to our residents and continue to make planned improvements at the home to ensure this is always maintained. We are taking this matter seriously and are committed to restoring trust and confidence in our care home.”
The building where Olive Row Care Home is located was previously occupied by Temple Court run by a different provider – Amicura Limited.
To read the full report go to the CQC website https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-10795207162.