Northamptonshire specialist care home placed in special measures after watchdog finds multiple failings

A specialist Northamptonshire care home where staff “did not feel supported or appreciated” has been placed in special measures.

Grafton Manor, in Grafton Regis, near Towcester, was looking after 11 patients with acquired brain injury when it was inspected across four days in November and December 2022. It does, however, have the capacity to care for 26 people.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors found multiple breaches and care failings. They said too few agency staff working at the home had received training to meet all residents’ needs.

The home was rated inadequate, having been rated good at a previous inspection in 2021. A spokesperson for the home said it had been “experiencing considerable challenges caused by a nationwide shortage of staff in the care sector” when it was inspected across four days in November and December 2022.

The CQC said it found “several incidents” where people were “either harmed or at risk of harm” that had not been referred to the appropriate authority so they could be further assessed. Inspectors also found there had been delays in people receiving “personal care following incontinence”, which led to residents being at a risk of infection and skin damage.

Care plans did not always reflect residents’ needs or inform staff how to mitigate known risks, inspectors found. Two people who had insulin-dependent diabetes were found to have suffered “prolonged periods” of high blood sugar, which put them at increased risk of serious medical conditions.

Seven of eight nurses spoken to by the CQC said too few permanent staff and an influx of agency staff had “affected their ability to meet people’s needs”. One said it was a “struggle” to provide care.

A member of bank staff said they had stopped working at the home because of the problems. Inspectors said the home’s kitchen was “visibly dirty” and that gaps in cleaning had been recorded. Cleaning staff did not work at weekends.

A resident told inspectors they “spent a lot of time sitting in their room as there was nothing to do” at the home. Physiotherapy sessions for another did not take place due to a lack of staff, a relative said.

Another said their relative sometimes appeared “unkempt” so they were left to support them because they “could not rely on staff”.

The home is run by Partnerships in Care Limited.

In a statement, the spokesperson said a new management team was appointed and is in place.

They said: “A full service review has been completed.

“Actions from this, and the inspection, formed a robust plan to address any shortfalls identified. We have recruited a full team of staff, and are providing additional training across the home so all residents’ individual needs are met swiftly and compassionately, while regular cleanliness and maintenance checks take place every day throughout the home.

“We are pleased with initial progress the new team have made and will continue to ensure that progress is sustained.”