Bromley care home closes after inspection flags up shortcomings
A residential care home in Bromley rated as inadequate by the health and social care regulators last summer, has decided to close, with 26 residents having to be found new homes.
The home closed on January 16, with the local authority having transferred them to new accommodation.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said the residents of Queens Court, Bickley Road, had not always received proper personal care, with staff not understanding individual needs, risks and preferences.
Leading staff members had not always acted correctly to protect people from risks to their safety before they came to harm, the report said and didn’t always learn lessons when people had come to harm.
The home had space for 31 people, some of whom were living with dementia.
The report from last July followed a first inspection of the home since it was taken over by Lorven Housing Ltd. Under the previous provider, the CQC also rated the home inadequate overall.
Following this inspection, the commission did mitigate its overall finding by saying it was safe, effective, and well-led. But Lorven Housing made the decision to close Queens Court, the commission says.
The CQC have been in close contact with the local authority, who have supported all residents to find new accommodation. As the service remains technically registered with CQC, it will remain in special measures.
Inspectors had other misgivings about the home. They found residents and their relatives weren’t always involved in planning their care and didn’t always have access to their care records.
They concluded care plans for some people with dementia lacked mental capacity assessments or guidance on how staff should support them, which meant inspectors couldn’t be assured staff were always working in line with people’s rights and best interests.
And they found that some people’s care plans used inappropriate language to describe them. For example, one person’s communication care plan described them as a suspicious person without further information for staff on what that meant or why it was relevant to their care.
They did find that residents and their relatives felt staff were kind and they applauded the home’s activity coordinator had developed a weekly programme of activities to improve people’s wellbeing.
Lorven Housing, based in Church Road, Croydon, declined to comment when approached by the South London Press. Mr Ananda Chakravarthy Kota is registered by the CQC as responsible for the services at Queen’s Court.
Bromley council has been approached for comment.
Picture: Pixabay/Sabine van Erp