Barton Brook Care Home put into special measures by watchdog

The home was previously rated as requires improvement

A care home has been rated as inadequate and placed into special measures by the care watchdog.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has concerns over staffing, safeguarding, falls management and leadership at Barton Brook Care Home in Eccles.

Alison Chilton, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said it reported its findings to the provider "and they know what they must address".

We Care Group, which runs the home, said it takes the findings seriously.

The facility in Greater Manchester can provide care for up to 120 people - at the time of the inspections it had 110 residents.

CQC said its overall rating has dropped from requires improvement to inadequate, as have the ratings for being safe and well-led.

How effective, caring, and responsive the service is has dropped from good to requires improvement.

'Significant shortfall'

Ms Chilton said: "When we visited Barton Brook Care Home, it was disappointing to see such a significant shortfall of strong leadership.

"Since our last inspection, there have been five different managers, which has led to people's care needs not always being met as there was little consistency of leadership.

"Staff told us they enjoyed working at Barton Brook, however, issues with staffing levels and lack of leadership impacted on the culture, resulting in low morale and staff leaving."

Ms Chilton said the home did not ensure risks were managed well, and safety measures were not always followed by staff.

In one instance, mobility equipment was not always used and some people did not wear any footwear, putting them at risk from falls.

Care plans were not always followed or inaccurate and some residents ended up with hospital admissions when they did not receive the support and supervision they needed.

A spokesman for We Care Group said it was "committed to providing the very highest-quality care at Barton Brook Care Home, which became part of the We Care Group in April 2022".

"We are disappointed and saddened by the findings within the report, which we take very seriously," they added.

"We would like to apologise to residents, family members and the local community, that the standards in the home have fallen below those expected within the We Care Group."

He said a robust action plan was in place and the home had "already made significant progress".

"[We] are confident that the home will soon be back to the good standard we expect."

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