Kettering care home put in special measures after being rated inadequate

A residential care home has been rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission for the first time.

A transformed property acting as a home for people with learning difficulties and autism, on 63 Loddington Road in Cransley, near Kettering, has been put in special measures following an inspection at the end of 2023.

The regulator said the home, which is run by Alderwood L.L.A. Limited, did not support residents to have ‘maximum choice and control of their lives’ and found not all staff were properly trained.

At the time of inspection, all six rooms were occupied.

It was previously rated as good in 2019 and outstanding in 2017.

The Cransley care home will now be kept under review and re-inspected later this year to ensure significant improvements are being made.

CQC inspectors found several areas of concern including:

Not all staff had the skills and training to understand the needs of people with learning disabilities and autistic people

This entailed a lack of knowledge of specific mental health needs, communication, positive behavioural support needs and any restrictive interventions. In one instance a staff member repeatedly told a person to put their hands down on a mat to stop tapping their face but did not consider any alternatives for the person to meet this sensory need.

The report also wrote that there weren’t always ‘sufficient numbers of suitable staff’ and that the provider ‘relied on a frequent high use of agency staff to cover people’s care’ which ‘put people at risk due to lack of knowledge’.

Residents weren’t supported to have maximum choice in their lives and treated as individuals

The inspector wrote that the provider had ‘failed to treat people as individuals’ and that they weren’t supported in a ‘person-centred’ manner. It found little information about pastimes and hobbies in personal folders and identified a lack of support in achieving people’s personal goals.

It also found that people were ‘not always treated with kindness and compassion’ and noted that some staff were focused on ‘getting people to complete tasks’ rather than ‘meaningful engagement or relational support’. Some language used in people’s support plans was disrespectful, describing residents as ‘noncompliant’ and ‘trying to cry’.

Despite people living at the service for several years, the provider had not adapted the building to be people’s ‘home’. Inspectors found elements of the building still looked the same as its previous use as a hotel and that people’s sensory needs had not been considered.

People were not always protected from the risk of infection and harm

The healthcare regulator found that the environment was not always clean, for example, the kitchen floor was visibly dirty, with no sign of any recent cleaning. It also had concerns with infection prevention practices as hand washing products weren’t always available.

People’s care records were not always up-to-date or complete and people were not always safeguarded from abuse and avoidable harm. According to the report, this led to ‘a significant incident where a person and others experienced psychological and physical harm’.

The CQC will reinspect the Cransley care home later this year to check for improvements and see if it can be moved out of ‘special measures’.

A spokesman for Alderwood LLA said: “We are deeply disappointed by the shortcomings highlighted in this report and recognise that the recent standards of support delivered have fallen behind the high expectations that those we support, and their families rightly expect and deserve.

“We take all feedback from the CQC seriously and have a comprehensive improvement plan in place.”