Care home provider de-registered over safety

The provider of Bay House care home has been de-registered by the Care Quality Commission

A care home provider has been told it can no longer run its care home or provide health and adult social care services after it was rated as inadequate for a second time by health inspectors.

Bay House in Olney, Buckinghamshire, was kept in special measures after failing to make safety and leadership improvements first outlined in November 2023.

The home for older people and people with dementia was run by Olney Care Homes.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it had taken regulatory action and de-registered the provider "to protect people, which Bay House has the right to appeal" and would report on this when legally able to do so.

The CQC said there have been no residents at the home since the registration was cancelled on 8 October.

Bay House cannot operate unless Olney Care Homes files an appeal and the result of that appeal is successful.

The company, which only operates one home, has been asked to comment in response to the findings and de-registration.

Ratings for "responsive, effective and caring" were not inspected and remained rated as good by the CQC.

Inspectors made their second visit to Bay House between May and June.

Window restrictors were found to be missing for some windows on the first floor

The CQC said it had been prompted to check on the progress of improvements the home had been instructed to make following a previous inspection.

In the follow-up inspection they found three breaches of legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, safeguarding and governance.

Window restrictors were found to be missing for some windows on the first floor, and where restrictors were installed, they failed to meet Health and Safety Executive (HSE) requirements, the inspector's report said.

"This poses a risk of falls from height for the residents," it added.

In addition, fire doors did not always function correctly, with missing smoke seals and doors that failed to close properly.

"The environment was unsafe, placing residents at significant risk of harm," the report said.

Inspectors also found instances where residents were "at risk of receiving incorrect medication due to poor record-keeping and unclear instructions" for administering topical medicines.

Visibly dirty

This also increased the risk of infection, as creams may have been shared between residents.

Multiple areas of the home were visibly dirty and could not be properly cleaned, increasing the risk of infection.

There was damaged and rotten flooring in a bedroom, as well as evidence of mould, the inspection report said.

The CQC said leaders at Bay House did not promote a learning culture and staff did not report incidents effectively. They also found incidents were not actively investigated, leading to missed opportunities for improvement.

Inspectors said they spoke with eight people and five relatives of people using the service.

"While the people we spoke to expressed that they were generally happy with their care, our assessment found elements of care did not meet the expected standards," the CQC said.