'Significant shortfalls' remain at care home - CQC

Norbury Court in Sheffield was first placed in special measures after an inspection in January

A care home has been rated inadequate after inspectors said they identified "significant shortfalls" nine months after it was first placed in special measures.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors said despite "some improvements" the health and wellbeing of residents at Norbury Court in Sheffield was still being "compromised".

According to the CQC, people at risk of falls were left unattended and care records for people at risk of choking contained conflicting information.

A spokesperson for Norbury Court said it was working to carry out a "comprehensive action plan while also sustaining improvements made to date."

The residential care home for older people is run by Roseberry Care Centres.

The latest inspection in July followed on from concerns raised during a previous inspection, which found it had issues with safety and leadership.

CQC deputy director of operations in the north Alan Stephenson said: “It was disappointing that despite some improvements being made since we last inspected, we continued to identify significant shortfalls that compromised people’s safety and wellbeing.”

Poor staff deployment

Issues raised in the latest review included, unclear record keeping, cleanliness, ineffective quality and safety audit systems, staff unaware of people’s moving and handling risks, and no oversight of mealtime experiences.

Mr Stephenson said: “Leaders didn’t always ensure there was enough staff to support and maintain people’s safety and wellbeing.

“For example, there were occasions when people at risk of falls were left unattended due to poor staff deployment.

“Sometimes people who needed encouragement and prompting with their meals weren’t always receiving this as staff were too busy elsewhere in the home.

“Where risks to people were known, their care plans weren’t always up to date, or accurate. For example, there was conflicting information in some care records relating to diet and fluid levels for people at risk of choking.”

The CQC said the home would be kept under close review and monitored to check sufficient improvements had been made.

A spokesperson for Norbury Court said its "new and experienced" senior management team had been "working tirelessly since the last inspection to make improvements".

They added: “While we know there is more for us to do, we are pleased that the CQC has recognised in their report that the service has improved, and we are grateful to staff and residents for their positive feedback."

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