Sutton care home ordered to improve

The Hollies on Alfreton Road cares for adults with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder, and has 15 people in its care.

However, after a routine inspection by the care quality commission, it was told it 'requires improvement'.

A report produced by inspectors states: "At the time of the inspection 15 people were using the service. This is larger than current best practice guidance.

"However. the size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated by the building design fitting into the residential area and the other large domestic homes of a similar size.

"Inconsistencies were identified with one person’s medicine administration, but this had not impacted on their health.

"Increased oversight of cleanliness was required to ensure consistency."

The home, run by Quality Care (EM) Ltd, received a 'good' rating in all categories in the previous inspection in 2016.

The CQC judges healthcare providers in five categories - if the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-lead.

The Hollies was rated as 'requires improvement' in all categories except for caring and responsive, which were rated good.

Inspectors said people's safety had been impacted as repairs and maintenance reported by staff to the provider had not been responded to in an effectively and timely manner.

The report says that staff responsible for health and safety checks had not identified some maintenance issues identified during this inspection.

It continues: "Where safeguarding concerns had been identified, action had been taken to investigate and mitigate risks in conjunction with the local authority external safeguarding team. Incidents were reviewed for themes and patterns and to consider if incidents could have been avoided or managed differently."

Staff were praised in the report for being 'caring and competent', and for 'supporting [service users] in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests."

The home was also praised for involving service users in their care.

The report states: "People were involved as fully as possible in the care and support they received, this included greater opportunity of accessing the local community and pursuing interests, hobbies and experiencing new opportunities."

A spokeswoman for The Hollies declined to comment.

You can read the full report here: cqc.org.uk/location/1-151512519/reports