Lancaster care home failed to keep vulnerable residents safe in their beds

The inspection also found that the service was not always well led, leading to a finding of ‘needs improvement.’

The overall rating for the service was that it ‘required improvement.’

Dolphinlee House care home for older people is a residential care home run by Lancashire County Council providing accommodation and personal care for up to 46 adults.

People living with dementia are cared for here as well as two units which offer support to people who require a short period of reablement.

Equipment in the home posed a threat of potential risks. Bed levers which are supposed to be used to support safe mobility and independence risked entrapment and injury while faulty door handles hadn't been listed for repairs. Lancashire County Council says "many of the issues" highlighted by inspectors "were immediately addressed by the home".

Risk assessments weren’t adequately carried out including risks associated with conditions such as diabetes, skin conditions, constipation and specific unstable health conditions.

People's medicines were not managed safely. The CQC found medicines were not always given safely in line with best practice guidance.

In addition, they had not monitored if people's health conditions had been impacted by the frequent refusal of medicines.

The provider and their staff needed to ensure details of people's allergies were accurately recorded in all medicine administration records.

The CQC found eight records did not reference people's allergies where they had one.

There was a system to monitor the risks of infection however on the first day of the inspection the CQC observed not all staff were wearing masks as recommended and visitors were not asked or checked for symptoms of Covid-19 on arrival.

Staffing requirements were below standards as inspectors discovered that the provider had failed to adequately ensure that staff were suitably qualified for their role.

Staff had not completed training that the provider deemed necessary for the role and linked to the specific needs of people in the service.

In relation to the leadership in the home the CQC state that the provider had failed to evidence the accuracy of care records and the availability of risk assessments in people's care records. This meant further improvements to the system for oversight and accountability were required.

A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council, said: "We are disappointed with the outcome of this latest focused inspection and are working hard to address the issues raised in its findings as soon as possible. We take feedback of this kind extremely seriously as our priority is to provide high quality, safe care.

"Many of the issues were immediately addressed by the home and we are developing a robust action plan that will outline what we will do to quickly turn this round in order to improve the standards of quality and safety at the home.

"Despite the overall findings of the inspection, we are pleased to read the comments provided by some of the people who were living at the home who spoke positively of their care at Dolphinlee House."