A care home for people with learning and physical disabilities in Cambridge has been put into special measures by regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after an inspection found it was not providing safe care.
During the unannounced inspection of the Fen Road home, the CQC found the provider, Metropolitan Housing Trust, was failing to provide care which was safe, effective, caring, well-led and responsive to people’s needs.
The home, which provides accommodation and nursing care for up to 10 adults who have learning and physical disabilities, has been rated as inadequate.
CQC said Metropolitan was in breach of 8 regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The system to monitor the quality of the care being provided and to drive improvement was not effective and this impacted on all areas of the service.
In addition, CQC found risks had not always been managed to keep people as safe as possible. Risk assessments had not always been completed, which meant that staff did not have the information they required to ensure that people received safe care.
The inspectors also noted that they did not always see people being treated with dignity or respect or having their privacy upheld.
Finally, care plans did not contain all of the relevant information that staff required so that they knew how to meet people’s current needs. The inspectors said they could not be confident that people always received the care and support that they needed.
Rob Assall-Marsden, CQC’s head of inspection for adult social care in the central region said: “It is essential that Fen Road takes action to address the concerns we identified at this inspection. The provider has a responsibility to ensure that people living at the home are safe and protected from the risk of harm. All people living there have a right to receive care which is of a high quality, compassionate and safe.
“When we are faced with a residential or nursing home failing their residents, our first instinct is to make sure the service improves.
“Since the inspection we have been working closely with the local authority to ensure that residents are not at risk. We have placed this service in special measures and are taking further action in relation to this provider. We will report on this action when it is completed.”
In response, a spokesperson for Metropolitan said: “We are very sorry that Fen Road did not meet the required standards and are committed to working with the CQC and the local authority to deliver immediate improvements. A robust action plan to resolve the issues identified is being implemented and we believe the CQC will be able to see the changes we have made at its follow up inspection.”
