Brandon House care home in north Leeds slapped with ‘requires improvement’ CQC rating

The CQC slapped Brandon House in Tongue Lane, Meanwood, with a “requires improvement” rating, following an inspection earlier this year.

While it praised the staff, and accepted the residents were largely happy, it criticised the governance and record-keeping of the home.

Brandon House’s new manager said the home had come a long way since a previous inspection in 2021, and that “positive management changes” should ensure the facility continues to improve.

The facility is an elderly care home with room for up to 42 residents, some of whom may be living with dementia.

The report stated: "The service did not monitor themes and trends of accidents and incidents.

"We felt the issues regarding monitoring themes and trends related to poor governance."

Despite this, it added accidents were recorded and there was evidence of appropriate action taken to reduce the risk of happening again.

Inspectors said when they visited the home, it did not have a registered manager, and that the regional manager was having to provide additional support.

The report added: “Documentation was not coherent. Records was (sic) accurate however we found gaps in medicine records and out of date recruitment records.

“The provider used a range of audits and monitoring systems to assess the quality and performance of the home and care provided. These had been used to identify shortfalls, generate actions and drive improvements.

"However, these has not always driven improvement and some issues were not addressed.”

Inspectors said residents “felt safe” living at the home, and that relatives they had spoken to had no concerns about their family members’ safety.

At the previous CQC inspection, the home was found to have failed to recruit staff safely. At this inspection, inspectors found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

The report added: “Recruitment documentation was not clear. All staff files we checked had the correct criminal checks however we found some documentation out of date. We felt the issues regarding the recruitment documentation related to poor governance.

“Staff were recruited safely. The provider had recruitment checks in place to ensure staff were suitable to work in a care setting.

“Staffing levels were safe. The provider used a dependency tool to calculate staffing levels and staffing rotas indicated staffing levels were always above minimum.

“Support for staff was insufficient. Since the previous registered manager left staff had not received regular supervision.”

One staff member told inspectors: "It's a little bit down at the moment, I am hopeful they will get a new manger soon and things will get better."

Piriya Suresparan, operations manager for Brandon House said: “We have come a long way from our last CQC inspection. We remain as 'Requires Improvement' in the areas of Safe and Well-Led, as per the recent focused CQC inspection report.

"However, the substance of the most recent report is relatively positive in which the improvements in the environment have been recognised by the Inspector.

“We have made some positive management changes which will hopefully lead to more positive changes going forward and a positive report following the next CQC visit.”