Care home rated inadequate again amid safety fears

A care home that was placed in special measures has again been rated as inadequate after it had not done enough to "ensure people received consistently safe and effective care".

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found that Ashley Court Care Ltd in Wolverhampton remained in breach of six regulations related to safe care and treatment, staffing, dignity and respect, person-centred care, need for consent and overall management of the service.

The site, on Penn Road, was first downgraded from "requiring improvement" to "inadequate" in March.

A spokesperson for the home said it was "disappointed" with the new rating and staff remained "committed to continuously improving the care we provide".

Ashley Court Care, run by a company of the same name, provides support to older and younger people, some of whom with dementia.

Following an inspection in July, CQC again rated how safe, effective, caring and well-led the home was as "inadequate", and how responsive it was as "requires improvement", meaning the home will remain in special measures.

The care watchdog said it is in the process of proposing to take regulatory action to address the concerns, which the provider has the right to appeal.

"When we returned to Ashley Court Care Ltd, it was disappointing to find leaders still hadn't established a good enough grip on the areas we'd raised before," said Greg Rielly, CQC deputy director of adult social care in its central region.

He added: "We found examples where the home hadn't properly planned people's care around their needs. One person had experienced repeated falls from their bed, but staff couldn't show us that the equipment meant to alert them had worked when this happened.

"Another person needed regular repositioning to protect their skin, but records showed long gaps between checks."

Concerns were also raised about an inconsistent incident log system and the home's heavy reliance on agency staff.

The report also identified issues with medicines management and care records, including conflicting information about some residents' dietary needs.

Inspectors further noted occasions when staff did not respond promptly to residents needing help, including when a person became unresponsive while staff were nearby.

However, inspectors found some areas where improvements had been made and praised staff for treating people kindly during medicine rounds and having a good system in place for recording people's wishes for their future care.

They also noted that staff spoke positively about the service and were safely recruited.

Rielly added: "We've told leaders where they must make rapid and widespread improvements, what will happen if they don't and we'll continue to monitor the home closely."

In response, the home said it strongly believed a single-word rating did not reflect the standard of care it delivered.

A spokesperson from Ashley Court Care Ltd added: "Since our previous inspection by the CQC earlier this year, we have taken significant steps to improve the quality of care we deliver to our residents, which were noted by inspectors in their latest visit.

"This has included implementing a new management structure, closer working with the local authority and listening to feedback from residents and their loved ones.

"We have also made improvements to the environment within the home."

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