Birmingham: Abuse possible at Clare Court Care Home, inspectors say

Inspectors have placed the home in special measures

A care home has been placed in special measures after inspectors found residents could have been abused.

Clare Court Care Home, in Winson Green, Birmingham, was rated inadequate following a visit in September 2023.

While there were improvements in medicines management and staff support, multiple failings were identified.

Avery Homes, which runs the site, said its absolute aim was to provide the highest possible standards of care for residents and families.

At the time of the inspection, the residential care home was caring for 61 people living with dementia.

The visit was prompted in part by concerns shared with CQC about the management of risk of falls following an incident.

Inspectors were left concerned about people's safety from abuse and said not all injuries had been investigated.

Abuse 'a possibility'

One person had suffered a serious injury resulting in fractures, but staff didn't know how it had happened and hadn't followed it up to establish this, their report said.

Inspectors wrote they didn't see any evidence to suggest the person had been the victim of abuse, but the failure to investigate meant this was still a possibility.

Amanda Lyndon, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said she was disappointed to see leaders didn't understand the issues they faced.

"Our inspectors found serious concerns due to ineffective systems [and] the inappropriate use of restraints as well as a number of other serious safety concerns," she said.

"We saw that staff didn't always follow falls prevention processes which is totally unacceptable and puts people at risk of avoidable harm."

'Robust action plan'

Ms Lyndon added record keeping of food and water consumption was also not at the level the CQC would expect, meaning people remained at risk of unhealthy weight loss.

An Avery Homes spokesperson said the firm had taken "immediate action" to address concerns in the report.

"We have recently installed a new leadership team at Clare Court and have a robust action plan in place," they said.

"We are working closely with the CQC and Birmingham City Council to ensure we meet and maintain the regulatory requirements."

A service in special measures is kept under close review by CQC and monitored to check sufficient improvements have been made.