Buxton care home told to improve after inspectors find safety and leadership failings

The report on Haddon Hall Care Home, on London Road, documents an unannounced inspection in December, at which time the home had 50 residents with a range of complex needs related to dementia, treatment of disease, disorder or injury.

Although the report rates the home as ‘good’ for being effective, caring and responsive – three out of five main criteria – issues with safety and leadership dragged down the overall rating to ‘requires improvement’. The previous full inspection in 2019 rated it ‘good’ across the board.

Inspectors found: “There were not enough suitably trained, qualified, competent staff employed at the service. Staff told us that at times they could be left alone with up to 17 people at night. This posed a risk to people not receiving support when they required assistance. The risk was heightened for people who required the assistance of two staff.

“Staff and some relatives told us that there were not enough staff to meet people's needs. People were often waiting for their medication because there were not enough staff trained in administering medication. One relative told us, ‘Some people were waiting for their medication and didn't get to bed until midnight.’”

Failure to deploy enough staff is a breach of regulations outlined in the Health and Social Care Act 2008, and inspectors identified a second breach in relation to infection control as, when they first arrived, they were not asked for proof of a Covid vaccination or negative test result.

There were more causes for concern, as inspectors wrote: “There were no risk assessments for some aspects of care … We saw that one person had lost a significant amount of weight over a three-week period. We could not see that this had been risk assessed and care planning had conflicting information.”

Referring to contact with parent company Porthaven Care Homes, the report says: “The regional manager told us that they had assessed the service as having more staff than required. However, the registered manager told us that they were in a recruitment process to increase staffing levels.”

In terms of leadership, the inspectors said: “We found that the management of the service had deteriorated and it now requires improvement ... management and leadership was inconsistent. Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.

“Staff told us that the management team were not approachable ... Staff had reported issues of concern through to the management team. These had been dismissed and the concern not acted upon. Staff also said that they did not have any meaningful supervisions … One staff member told us that staff morale was low and that is why staff have left the service.”

A Porthaven spokesperson said: “We were very disappointed with this inspection as it does not reflect the high standards of care and services provided at Haddon Hall Care Home throughout the pandemic and previously.

“The results of the inspection have been challenged and we very much hope the two areas rated as requires improvement will be returned to good to match the other three good ratings.”

To read the full report, go to https://bit.ly/3KdsMI0 https://api.cqc.org.uk/public/v1/reports/4e267b23-55ab-47bb-b131-d040f2f8eb50?20220125130000.

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