Many learning disability residential care services fail to provide patient-centred care, according to care regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The regulator made this claim as it released a further 20 reports from its programme of 150 unannounced inspections of hospitals and care homes that care for people with learning disabilities. Forty inspection reports have now been published, and an initial analysis of these has revealed that many services fail to provide care that is based on the individual needs of the people using the services.
Bernadette Hanney, national project lead for the learning disability review said: “People must be placed at the centre of their care. We have found that too often people are not involved in the development of their care plans. And often those care plans lack detail about the person’s preferences, which can have an adverse impact on the quality of care provided. “Our inspection teams have found that often people don’t get enough activities. A varied range of activities that people enjoy and that meet their needs promotes and supports independence and is vital to the wellbeing of people using the services. In some cases we have found there have not been enough staff to deliver activities that have been planned.”
The 20 inspections published today were focused on 2 outcomes relating to the Government’s essential standards of quality and safety: the care and welfare of people who use services, and safeguarding people who use services from abuse. Of the 20 facilities inspected, one facility – Beech House in Newmarket – had major concerns with both outcomes; two had one major and one moderate concern, and 5 had with moderate concerns with both outcomes. Only four facilities were found to be fully compliant with both outcomes.
Beech House, run by Four Seasons (Granby One Ltd), was served a warning notice by the CQC because of the seriousness of its concerns. However, the regulator has since made another inspection and Beech House is now compliant. A lack of patient-centred care was one of the CQC’s concerns at Beech House. For example, five care plans were reviewed during the inspection and they were found to be disorganised and difficult to locate. Care plans were not person-centred and the terminology reflected what staff would do for the patient rather than focusing on the patient’s desires, wishes and choices. Major concerns in relation to the care and welfare of people using the service were also found at North Lodge in Lancaster, run by Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, and Langdon Hospital (Owen House) in Dawlish, run by Devon Partnership NHS Trust.
A national report into the findings of all 150 inspections will be published in the spring. To view all 20 of the reports released today, click here. To read about leading charities’ response to the inspection reports, click here
