A STALYBRIDGE nursing home has been placed back into special measures after inspectors found ‘serious failings.’
People living at Parkhill, on Huddersfield Road, were found with long dirty nails and poorly cleaned teeth, also were only supported to have showers about once a week, when inspectors visited.
It had no risk assessments in place for people needing additional support when using the shower to prevent injuries.
Staff lacked knowledge about people who required adapted diets which could place them at risk of harm.
General repairs, including ensuring all bedrooms have access to hot water, are still needed.
And the facility did not always support people to manage their health and wellbeing, meaning people could not maximise their independence, choice, and control.
Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors also found staff did not always follow appropriate moving and handling practice which could place people at risk of harm.
Parkhill was first branded inadequate in November 2024.
That was lifted in areas to requires improvement after a follow up inspection conducted in August as part of ongoing enforcement action against the provider for eight continued breaches of regulation found improvements in four areas.
But its latest visit in December has seen it once again rated inadequate and placed into special measures to protect people.
Inspectors found continued breaches of regulation and new breaches in relation to person-centred care, safe care and treatment and the safe management of people’s nutrition and hydration needs.
Also, leaders did not ensure a continuity of care, including when people moved between different services and guidance from external stakeholders was not always being followed.
Staff did not tailor people’s care plans to their individual needs and did not consider their aspirations, culture, unique backgrounds and protected characteristics.
And people told inspectors they wanted more activities and stimulation to support their wellbeing.
The inspection at Parkhill Nursing Home, which is run by Belmont Parkhill Limited and provides care and support for up to 38 people, came after concerns that were raised at a previous probe.
Following this inspection, CQC has downgraded the home’s rating of the safe category from requires improvement to inadequate. Effective, caring and responsive are rated requires improvement again and well-led is also rated inadequate again.
Special measures also provide a structured timeframe so services understand when they need to make improvements by and what action CQC will take if this does not happen.
Andrew Peck, CQC deputy director of operations in the north west, said:
“When we returned to Parkhill, we found a continuation of serious failings that placed people at unnecessary risk of harm.
“Leaders failed to take timely action to address issues raised during previous inspections, including ensuring the environment was suitably safe and secure for people to live in.
“Parkhill has been rated inadequate or requires improvement for the last five inspections, and leaders have failed to respond adequately to address and sustain serious concerns raised by CQC which is why we are taking further enforcement action.
“We have found throughout these inspections that when some concerns were addressed, at our next visit we would find different areas had deteriorated.
“Our inspectors saw that leaders hadn’t taken action to fix safety issues within the home.
“General repairs were still needed, including ensuring all bedrooms had access to hot water, making sure radiators were covered and covers were securely fixed to walls and ensuring the premise was secure.
“We found people weren’t being supported to maintain personal hygiene. Several people had long dirty nails and poorly cleaned teeth.
“People were only supported to have showers approximately once a week, regardless of their preference.
“Leaders didn’t ensure staffing levels were sufficient, meaning people often experienced delays in receiving support and were often woken up early to accommodate this understaffing.
“We received several concerns about people having to wait for assistance, especially during the night which placed people at risk of harm.
“We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid, and continued improvements and will continue to monitor the home closely to keep people safe during this time.
“We have begun the process of taking regulatory action in order to protect people further which Belmont Parkhill Limited has the right to appeal.”
The CQC does admit leaders have told them they are committed to working with partner organisations to improve the standard of care they are providing to people.
However, this latest imposition of special measures does not paint a promising picture.