'Inadequate' Kirkby care home slammed for 'poor standards' and told to improve

It’s the second time inside nine months that Richmond Lodge has been branded ‘Inadequate’ by inspectors at the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The home, which looks after up to five adults with learning difficulties, remains in special measures and will be continue to be monitored by the CQC. It could even be closed down.

Rebecca Bauers, a director of the CQC, said: “It is unacceptable for people using this service to experience poor standards of care.

"People should be safe and treated with dignity and respect.

"The leaders of this service are allowing a culture to exist where people aren’t given the opportunity to live fulfilled and meaningful lives.”

Richmond Lodge, on Richmond Road, is a private home run by Blue Sky Care Ltd, which is based at Sherwood Business Park in Annesley. The home received its first ‘Inadequate’ grading after an inspection last August, having previously been rated ‘Good’.

It was given three warning notices and urged to come up with an action plan. But a further, unannounced, inspection by the CQC in February revealed no improvements had been made.

"We were very concerned to find the provider still didn’t have effective systems in place,” said Ms Bauers.

"The provider hadn’t addressed our previous concerns, and new issues were found which meant residents weren’t safe and were at risk of avoidable harm.”

Examples included the inspectors finding that water temperatures at the home were “not monitored appropriately, increasing the risk of scalding”.

Also, some residents were at risk of absconding because gates and doors were left unlocked. This “must be addressed as a matter of urgency”, said Ms Bauers.

Inspectors revealed there were signs of “a closed culture” at the home, with staff failing to recognise abuse or to protect residents from neglect because of safeguarding shortcomings.

One example came when a resident was spoken to “in an inappropriate manner, casing them to become distressed”. On another occasion, a resident was hurt when staff failed to take action.

Furthermore, the CQC found that medicines weren’t managed safely, and residents’ support plans were not monitored effectively to ensure care was delivered in line with their needs and wishes.

Ms Bauers concluded: “We will be keeping the home under close review. We will not hesitate to take further action if we don’t see significant improvement, even if this results in the closure of the home.”

As well as the overall grading, the home’s ratings for the three categories of safe, effective and well-led were also ‘Inadequate’.

Categories headed caring and responsive, which weren’t included in February’s inspection, remain ‘Good’.

Managing director Richard Miller said Blue Sky Care was “significantly disappointed by the external regulator’s assessment”.

He added: “We have worked to return to our previous rating of ‘Good’, but this is a journey that is taking longer than hoped.

"We have invested in areas of record-keeping, support planning, community access, communication and risk management, and we will continue to do so.

"We always welcome external feedback, and we respect the assessment.

"We will work in partnership with the commission, our local authority and, most importantly, the people we support, their families and the staff team to achieve our goal.”