Care home put in special measures after inspection

A care home in Sileby has been placed in special measures after inspectors found its level of care had deteriorated.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) downgraded the rating of King Street - Care Home Physical Disabilities from good to inadequate following an inspection in October.

The CQC said the home breached six regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, medicine management, safe and effective staffing, person-centred care, dignity and respect, and good management.

A spokesperson for Leonard Cheshire, which runs the home, said "swift action" had been taken to carry out improvements.

King Street is a home for people requiring nursing or personal care with physical disabilities, learning disabilities and conditions such as Parkinson's.

The CQC rated the home as inadequate for being safe, caring and well-led, down from good.

The rating for how responsive the service is dropped from outstanding to requires improvement, while its rating for being effective is now requires improvement, down from good.

Being in special measures means the home will be subject to close monitoring to ensure people are safe while improvements are made.

Greg Rielly, the CQC's deputy director of adult social care for the East Midlands, said the home's failings were "putting people at harm".

The inspection showed leaders did not always routinely monitor people's care and treatment to continuously improve it, or ensure that outcomes were positive and consistent.

Mr Rielly said a person waited more than 20 minutes following a request for support and that the home did not always "respect people's dignity".

Leaders and staff also "lacked oversight of people's assessed needs", as well as not being aware of people's "essential protocols" if an emergency took place, the report stated.

Mr Rielly added staff did not always follow safeguarding processes, and incidents were not managed or reported to reduce further risks of harm.

The home did not ensure people's care plans and risk assessments reflected their current medicine needs and leaders did not ensure systems were in place to safely give and store medicines, putting people at risk, the report added.

"We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid, and widespread improvements," said Mr Rielly.

"We will return to check on their progress and won't hesitate to use our regulatory powers further if people still aren't receiving the care they have a right to expect."

A spokesperson for Leonard Cheshire said there had been "a range of staffing, recruitment and other challenges" since its last inspection in 2018, when it was rated good.

"A new interim management team had started just before the latest inspection," said the spokesperson.

"There is also extensive additional support and oversight from senior staff. This includes clinical nurse specialists and service improvement teams.

"Other measures include new and updated digital care plans and risk assessments, along with daily staff meetings and extra training.

"We will continue to provide people we support and their families with regular updates on the considerable progress we have been making."

Follow BBC Leicester on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected] or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210.