Northampton care home to close following damning report
Bethany Homestead claim 'regulatory burden' as the Care Quality Commission placed it into special measures.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), has rated Bethany Homestead in Northampton as inadequate and placed it into special measures to protect people following an inspection in January.
Historic Christian Care Home Bethany Homestead, has been in Northampton for 100 years, and provides personal care for up to 38 older people living with dementia, physical disabilities or sensory impairments.
The overall rating for the service, has been deemed as inadequate.
CQC found four breaches of regulation around safe environments, safeguarding, deprivation of liberty safeguards and nutrition and hydration. At the previous inspection, CQC found a breach of regulation around management and oversight which remains in place.
The service has been placed in special measures, which means it will be kept under close review by CQC to keep people already living there safe while improvements are made.
Inspectors found:
• Leaders failed to provide staff with the necessary training to support people safely. Leaders also hadn’t made sure that all staff had gone through essential recruitment checks, including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.
• The home couldn’t demonstrate how they acted on safeguarding concerns to protect people.
• Staff didn’t always support people who needed walking aids or supervision to move.
• The home needed to work more closely with partners so that people experienced consistent care or smoother transitions between different services.
• Leaders didn’t provide clear guidance on dietary needs to kitchen staff which meant that people were at risk of choking or receiving food and drink that was unsuitable for their health conditions.
• Bethany Homestead didn’t maintain the home’s environment to a safe standard. CQC’s inspection team identified people were at risk of harm from hot water, hot appliances, cleaning materials, cars and laundry equipment.
• Staff didn’t feel comfortable raising concerns or identifying potential improvements with leaders.
• Staff relied on email to share details of resident and relative meetings which meant that some relatives who didn’t have access to email missed these.
The CQC did however say that some families had chosen the service for its faith provision and spoke positively about this. Where people followed other faiths, the home made sure that they were supported in this. Staff had recorded where people didn’t want to take part in religious activities.
Craig Howarth, CQC Deputy Director of Operations in Northamptonshire, said:
“We were disappointed to find that the quality of service at Bethany Homestead had declined since our previous inspection. The people living at the home and their families had mixed experiences and weren’t being provided with the level of care and support they have a right to expect. Behind this was continuing poor leadership which we also found at our previous inspection.
“People and their relatives hadn’t been involved in planning or reviewing their care and treatment. Staff didn’t have enough information available to them in care plans or handovers to understand how to provide care that met people’s individual needs and preferences.
“Leaders hadn’t put systems in place to assess or manage risks, and didn’t listen to concerns about safety or investigate incidents. This meant that the home was unable to learn lessons and reduce the risk of these happening again. One example that our inspection team saw was that staff didn’t always record people’s falls to identify why this happened and keep people safe.
“Our inspection teams saw some staff communicate in an uncompassionate way. People told us that they preferred to be cared for by some staff more than others which highlighted inconsistent performance between carers which leaders should be managing. However, people living in the home told us that most staff were friendly.
“We have identified areas where Bethany Homestead needs to make urgent improvements. We will keep the home under close review and will return to check on the progress they have made.”
Bethany Homestead
Bethany Homestead tell us following this report, they will close, but say it's due to 'regulatory burdens.'
In a statement to us Bethany Homestead Trustee Board say it's been acknowledged by the trustees that improvements can always be made, with a new manager brought in 12 months ago, but disagree with the CQC's decision to put the the home in special measures:
"We strongly refute this conclusion, but have no meaningful path to challenging the CQC as a small independent in the onerous regulatory environment."
It's this regulatory environment they say has lead them to close, with the Trust siting pressures from the likes of the CQC and West Northants Council, and continued issues with funding:
"In recent decades, although no Government has tackled the difficult questions about funding care provision, there have been repeated calls for greater regulation, now operated through the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC are commonly criticised for increasing the regulatory burden, particularly on smaller and independent operations, with an emphasis on excessive paperwork but without supporting improvement. Indeed, at the latest inspection, the CQC asserted their position as “we are regulators, not advisors.” "
Bethany Homestead Trustees say they will try to preserve care provision on the site, keeping most of the staff employed as they seek another organisation to take over the operation of the care home.