Two Morecambe care homes rated ‘inadequate’ and placed in special measures

Springfield Lodge in Elms Road and Malvern House in Heysham Road were both visited by inspectors in the summer, with their reports now having been published and both being given an overall rating of 'inadequate'.

Springfield Lodge is a residential care home run by Morecambe Care Limited, providing personal care to up to 15 people.

The service provides support to older people and those living with dementia.

Inspectors found people were at risk of harm because of failures to adequately identify and address concerns about the safety and quality of the service.

The leadership of the service was ineffective, and the registered manager and provider were not fulfilling their regulatory responsibilities.

The provider did not have effective systems in place to maintain oversight of the service and had not identified the issues found during inspection. However, the manager was responsive to feedback and had started to make improvements.

People were at risk as health and safety, including fire safety, had not always been robustly assessed and known issues had not been fully addressed.

Falls risks were not always effectively managed to ensure preventative measures were considered, and systems to support the safe and proper use of medicines was not always established.

However, inspectors found residents and their relatives consistently praised the caring approach by staff. People were treated with dignity and respect, and privacy and confidentiality were maintained.

People were supported to maintain their relationships with relatives and friends, who were able to visit.

An activities programme had been developed, which provided people with stimulation and catered to varying interests.

Residents and their relatives knew how to raise any concerns they may have and were confident in how these would be responded to.

Rod Taylor from Morecambe Care said: “We are a long-established care company in the area and have an excellent reputation for providing care that has been gained over the past 40 years.

“As a company that puts person-centred care at the heart of everything it does, we are disappointed with the findings of this inspection.

“Many of the suggested improvements were under way at the time of the inspection and since receiving the final report we have developed a robust action plan that has already made improvements in most of the areas identified.’’

Malvern House is a residential care home providing accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care to up to eight people.

The service provides support to older and younger adults, who may have a physical disability, learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder or require support with their mental health.

Inspectors found the provider failed to have safe and robust systems to meet people’s individual needs when their behaviours were of such an intensity, frequency or duration that their physical safety was likely to be placed in serious jeopardy.

Residents were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.

The provider failed to consistently help people have a good quality of life that supported their physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing while promoting their dignity and human rights.

They also failed to act in a timely manner to ensure everyone living at Malvern House lived in a safe clean environment that promoted their privacy.

They failed to ensure that staff interventions when people were in crisis were safe, proportionate and measurable through accredited training and comprehensive documentation.

Both homes will now be kept under review and will be re-inspected within six months to check for significant improvements.