Care home to remain in special measures

CQC inspectors found Lower Bowshaw View Nursing Home in Lowedges had not improved

A care home has been rated "inadequate" by inspectors for the second time in a row and will remain in special measures.

Lower Bowshaw View Nursing Home, in Lowedges, Sheffield, provides accommodation and care to older people, some of whom have dementia.

Following its latest inspection, the CQC said the home had failed to make "sufficient improvement" since being placed in special measures in March and issued operator Totalwest Limited with six warning notices.

The provider said it acknowledged the findings and was fully committed to "driving sustainable improvement across the service".

The CQC said the notices were designed to "focus Lower Bowshaw's attention on making immediate improvements around safe recruitment practices, staffing, safeguarding, person-centred care, safe care and treatment, and how the home is managed".

During their visit in September inspectors found staff "did not always have the skills and knowledge to carry out their roles effectively" while some staff were "reluctant to change meaning progression was slow".

The CQC said they also found leaders and staff "didn't foster a culture of learning from safety concerns and incidents, and as a result, similar concerns arose and people remained at avoidable risk of harm".

An inspection report also highlighted a failure to get residents to appointments and out of date or inaccurate care plans.

However, the CQC noted that staff and leaders treated people with "kindness, empathy, and compassion".

It also said a new management team was in the process of establishing systems and processes to make improvements.

'Consistent standards of care'

The care home provider said a new management team was now in place and it had launched a "transformational improvement plan".

"We recognise that while governance systems were in place at the time of the inspection, they were still in their infancy," a spokesperson said.

"Since then, we have continued to develop and embed these systems into everyday practice to ensure effective oversight, clear accountability, and consistent standards of care.

"We are confident that the CQC will see the positive impact of these improvements at the next inspection, once we have been given sufficient time as a service to fully embed and sustain the changes."

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