A Bracknell care provider is awaiting the results of its first inspection since being put in special measures earlier this year.
Heathlands Care Centre, managed by Windsar Care Limited, was described as unsafe, poorly led and ineffective dealing with residents, in a damning report published by government healthcare inspectors in August.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the provider, which only opened in April, as ‘inadequate’ following observations, feedback from staff and assessment of risk assessments and medicine management.
At a recent council meeting (November 30), Cllr Mary Temperton said the report had “concerned some of our most vulnerable residents” and sought assurance that the necessary improvements would be put in place “within the time scale” specified in the report.
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Executive Member for Adult Services, Health and Housing, Cllr Dale Birch, highlighted that the CQC inspection was in relation to just the dementia part of Heathlands, which the council is “not delivering”, and the rest of the services provided were “very successful”.
However, he said council officers and partners at the NHS have been undertaking “detailed and intensive work” to support Windsar Care in developing and delivering the improvement plan.
“Delivery of each part of the plan has been overseen by a representative from one of the following teams within the council and its partners, the care quality team, the medical optimisation in care homes people, the safeguarding people, community mental health, and our own commissioning people.”
Windsar Care was required to formulate an improvement plan after CQC found those living at Heathlands were at “risk of avoidable harm”.
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The watchdog concluded that the management of medicine was not always safe, residents were at risk of falls due to misplacement of bed rails, it wasn’t clear whether accidents and incidents were properly investigated, there were not enough staff to support people to stay safe and well, and residents were at risk of social isolation.
To ensure that people within the facility are safe, Cllr Birch says the council team has “undertaken a range of safeguarding activities”, including reviews of staffing rotas and risk assessments, welfare visits, targeting medication training and observations of individual safeguarding meetings.
He added: “CQC members have reinspected Heathlands in the first week of November and […] we await what their findings are.
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“We, as a council in support of the operator, stand ready to provide any further information that CQC needs.
Cllr Temperton sought further assurances that council officers will continue to keep Heathlands under observation after the inspection report is released “to ensure the changes are sustainable”.
“[…] it will most definitely continue to be closely monitored and closely supported by this council,” Cllr Birch said.
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