Inspectors at north Leeds care home find ‘unsupervised communal areas’ and patients visiting each other’s rooms uninvited

A nursing home in Chapel Allerton has been told it must improve by care inspectors, following a damning report published this month.
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Harrogate Lodge Care home, in Harrogate Road, was found to have not made sure residents were safe at all times, was not always well-managed.

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It added residents would sometimes go into each other's rooms uninvited, and that communal areas were often left unsupervised.

The CQC says the home must improve.The CQC says the home must improve.
The CQC says the home must improve.
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The care home, which is able to provide accommodation and nursing care for up to 50 people, was given a "requires improvement" rating by the CQC, following the inspection in June.

The report stated: "The service was not always managed well. Quality assurance systems were in place and happening regularly, however these had not always been effective in identifying the issues or in driving the necessary improvements identified at this inspection."

It claimed records related to people's care were "not always complete or contemporaneous", and that risks to people's care were not always looked after, adding: "We saw examples of other risks not always being well managed such as behaviours considered challenging to others or equipment used to support people's posture."

Inspectors were even alerted to two examples of people complaining of other residents going into their rooms when not invited.

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Some residents people did not have an up to date personal emergency evacuation plan, while "mixed feedback" was received from people and staff in relation to the staffing levels at the service.

"We observed communal areas were, at times, left unsupervised by staff," the report added. "Dependency levels were being considered for one area of the home, but not for another. The manager told us they had already identified this was an issue and told us their ongoing work to review staff's deployment, rotas and recruitment."

CQC officers recommend the provider reviewed staffing levels taking into consideration dependency levels in both floors. It added plans were also in place to continue developing the service, and also plans to renovate the home.

Inspectors added that residents and relatives told them the care had a positive impact, and received good feedback on staff being kind and caring.

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The report stated: “People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

“We saw evidence of good partnership work with other professionals, to meet the needs of people using the service.

“There were plans to continue developing the service, around improvement of care plans and dementia care.”

It added plans had also been put in place to renovate the home, stating: “The management team supported this inspection, were receptive to findings and acted timely on the concerns identified.”

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The care home was told to take action on improving the management on risks to people's care, as well as updating quality-assurance systems, care plans and records of care.

The home’s owner, Four Seasons Healthcare, said: “We regret that Harrogate Lodge has fallen below the standards required by the Care Quality Commission and have implemented a plan to address the issues highlighted in the report.

"We are pleased that the inspectors acknowledged improvements made since the appointment of a new Home Manager and were pleased to see positive comments from relatives, which reflect feedback we have received in the last month. We do recognise that other areas needed to be improved and the safety and wellbeing of residents and colleagues in our homes remain our first priority.”