Burntwood care home told to improve AGAIN

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has given Southwinds, on Chase Road, Burntwood a 'requires improvement' rating following an inspection on December 31 last year.

A warning notice was issued by the CQC after a previous inspection in August 2015.

• Click here to see the full report

Then, the home was found to be breaching regulations that state 'care and treatment of service users' must only be provided with their consent.

Inspectors found two residents had been listed by a doctor as being unable to consent to decisions about their care, despite relevant mental health assessments not being completed.

The home, which provides accommodation for up to 25 people with learning disabilities, has not properly acted on the advice given by the CQC with regards to the warning, the latest report reveals.

The assessments allow operators to decide whether a resident is able to make their own decisions and the law stipulates they must be completed to protect people's rights.

The report reads: "The provider was breaching legal requirements in the way people's records and those relating to the management of the home were monitored and managed.

"At this inspection we found that some improvements had been made, however no action had been taken to protect the rights of people who lacked the capacity to make choices for themselves.

"When people were unable to consent, mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions were not completed. The provider had not considered that some people were being restricted and that deprivation of liberty safeguards referrals were needed."

The care home was given three inadequate ratings between 2014 and 2015.

In the latest inspection, the home was deemed to be in need of improvement in terms of effectiveness and leadership.

Inspectors had also previously asked for improvements to be made relating to the ongoing monitoring of the quality of care provided at the home.

It was found that an audit service had been set up since but no assessments had been carried out.The report reads: "

This meant the registered manager was not monitoring the quality of the service to identify where improvements could be made." The report also states that people were not given a choice over their meals. Care home bosses were unavailable for comment.