Care home rated inadequate after safety concerns

A Herefordshire care home has been placed into special measures and rated "inadequate"

A care home in Herefordshire has been rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and placed in special measures.

The Garth Care Home with Nursing, in Kington, Herefordshire, was inspected in August and September, with inspectors reporting concerns over how safe the service was.

The home, run by a company called Wentworth Care Ltd, provides nursing and personal care to adults. There were 27 people living at the home at the time of the inspection.

The Garth said in a statement it took the CQC findings "extremely seriously". It added: "Ensuring the wellbeing, safety, and dignity of the people who live at The Garth will always be our highest priority".

"We are deeply sorry that the service fell below the standards they rightly expect," it said.

The inspection was carried out in response to potential concerns raised by external organisations.

During the inspection, the CQC identified four breaches of regulation related to person-centred care, consent, safe care and treatment, and good management.

The home has been asked to submit an action plan showing what immediate and widespread action it is taking in response to these concerns.

'Mixed experiences'

Amanda Lyndon, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said: "During our inspection of The Garth Care Home, we had multiple concerns about the care and treatment people were receiving.

"It was clear leaders needed to do more work to ensure people were receiving safe care that met their individual needs."

Ms Lyndon said people who used the care home's service provided "mixed experiences".

"Some people said they were bored and fed up, but said staff were kind and tried their best," she said.

"We saw some staff have positive interactions with people and engaged well, but others didn't interact with people outside of personal care tasks.

"The home didn't actively seek people's views on the service to help identify improvements, and people couldn't recall being asked for feedback on their care."

Ms Lyndon also noted the care home had not "taken appropriate measures" to reduce the risk of people falling from a stairway, despite a previous incident that saw a resident attempt to climb over the stair gate in that area.

A statement from The Garth said that since the inspection "significant and immediate action has been taken to address the concerns raised".

It said it had "submitted a comprehensive action plan to relevant authorities and are already well advanced in delivering a number of improvements."

"We fully accept that the service was not where it needed to be at the time of inspection," it said. "However, we are committed to transforming the home quickly and sustainably. The people who live at The Garth deserve the highest quality of care, and every member of our team is focused on delivering this."