A care home has been criticised by inspectors who said management failings put ‘residents at risk’.
Rowans Care Centre in Macclesfield failed to meet three of the five standards of quality and safety set out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
By law, providers must ensure they are meeting all standards.
The inspection was prompted by East Cheshire NHS Clinical Commissioning Group which was concerned that management was inadequate and vulnerable people were at risk.
Canterbury Care Homes Ltd, which runs the care home on Merriden Road, has been ordered to take ‘immediate action’ following the unannounced inspections in May and June.
In its report, the CQC said when inspectors first visited the home in May they found one manager had left their post in April only for the replacement to be moved to another part of the business within a month. Neither change had been reported to the CQC, which the care home should have done.
As a result of ‘inadequate management arrangements’ to ensure the wellbeing of people the inspector found poor communication between staff had put residents ‘at risk’.
In its Summary of Findings the inspectors said: “The service was not always safe.
“People told us that they felt safe and staff we spoke with were aware of how to recognise and report signs of abuse and were confident that action would be taken to make sure people were safeguarded from abuse. However, medicines were not always properly managed in the home nor were some other identified risks.”
Inspectors also found some people were not getting the support they needed to take fluids until late in the day, risks were not being managed effectively and medicines were not always stored and administered safely.
They also found processes to monitor the quality of the service were not being used effectively so problems were not always identified or addressed in a timely manner.
Breaches of the relevant regulations in safe care and treatment, person-centred care, meeting nutritional needs and good governance were also identified.
A spokesperson for the home said: “We take all feedback seriously and we have already put in place a thorough action plan to address matters raised in the CQC report.
“A new highly-experience manager is now in place.
“We note the positives that residents told inspectors they were happy and well cared for.
“Inspectors observed that residents benefited from frequent and positive interactions with staff and that the atmosphere in the home was relaxed and sociable.
“We are confident that the home is a safe and caring environment for residents and that actions immediately put in place will satisfy the CQC on a return inspection.”
