Berkshire Care Home still requires improvement after CQC inspection

CQC inspectors said Berkshire Care Home in Wokingham required improvement

A care home will remain in special measures following its latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection.

Berkshire Care Home, on Barkham Road in Wokingham, was previously reported as "inadequate" in December after nine breaches of regulations.

The latest inspection deemed it as "requiring improvement" but said it had "demonstrated progress in some areas".

A spokesperson for Four Seasons, which owns the home, said it was continuing to take action.

Berkshire Care Home provides support for 58 elderly people, some of whom have dementia.

The unannounced inspections reviewed care records, staff personnel files, medicines administration records, as well as the home's policies and procedures, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

According to the latest report, the home had "not made any improvements to the premises to meet the needs of people living with dementia".

Sometimes staff did not support residents "in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests", and mental capacity assessments were not always completed fully or effectively.

Action plan

In addition, not all staff had completed mandatory training, and mitigation of risks were not always satisfactory.

The care home will be given an action plan to follow before another inspection takes place within six months.

If no considerable progress is made the CQC will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating.

In its previous report the CQC recounted the case of a resident who died after their blood glucose increased to high levels and staff acted too slowly.

Four Seasons said: "We regret that the Berkshire [Care Home] remains below the standards that the CQC requires and that we expect.

"We are pleased that the inspector noted the progress we have made but recognise that there were areas that continue to need improvement."

It added: "We continue to take action to rectify this. The safety and wellbeing of everyone in our homes remains our first priority."