A residential care home in Eccles has been placed into special measures by health inspectors after “widespread failings” in its service.
The Care Quality Commission found Ash-Leigh House on Belgrave Crescent needed improvement in five key areas in a December 2015 report.
Inspectors returned in July and August this year and found the service had got worse.
In the latest report, published on 21 September, it was slapped with an ‘inadequate’ rating for failing to be safe, caring, effective and well-led.
The CQC have now put Ash-Leigh House into special measures.
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It means if improvements aren’t made within six months the care home could be shut down and the provider’s regsitration cancelled.
Inspectors found medication was not being stored safely, and “the home was not clean, presenting the risk of the spread of infections to people”.
Stairwell and sills were consistently dirty, and one porridge stain on a carpet was left for months.
When inspectors asked about this they were told there was not enough in the budget to replace them.
“Recruitment of new staff was not safe, with appropriate checks not carried out,” the report says.
“Due to some of the widespread failings within the service, we found people did not always benefit from a caring culture.
“We observed several instances where the dignity and respect of people living at the home was compromised.”
Confidential information including daily notes on service users “was left accessible in the kitchen area” while “people’s privacy and dignity was not promoted”.
The CQC also found the home failed to display the fact it had been rated ‘Requires Improvement’ in the previous inspection.
Ash-Leigh House opened in Eccles in 1997 and cares for 10 adults with mental health difficulties, some on a long-term basis.
Home owner and service provider Ashley Smith told SalfordOnline.com he accepted the report in its entirety but said great strides had been made to deal with the problems brought up.
He was, however, quick to blame previous management for many of the issues.
“We accept the findings of the report and 99% of the problems identified have now been sorted out,” he commented.
“After the last inspection I was assured by the manager that most of the problems had been sorted, but obviously they weren’t.
“We’ve now replaced the manager and we’re moving in the right direction.
Said Smith: “We’ve been here [in Eccles] for nearly 20 years.
“Some of our clients have been here for a long time, some for more than a decade.
“We know the families well and they visit regularly.
“All the families have been asked for their input and on the whole everyone is quite happy.”
Salford City Council inspectors are now visiting the home twice a week to check up on their progress.
“We’ve had two months to approach these issues since the inspectors came,” Smith continued.
“We brought in the consultancy firm Compass who made a series of recommendations, all the carpets have been changed and the cleaning and care plans updated; it’s a different place altogether now.
“Care can be good but the problems come if you don’t write it down.
“It’s a shame because we do provide a good standard of care but it’s just not been evidenced.
“It’s been a difficult two months but we’re working hard.
“Everything is in place now and we’re looking forward to welcoming the CQC to come back to see how far we’ve come.”
