Failing care home The Maples must improve, inspectors say

One person living at the home was at "high risk of injury", inspectors found

People living at a failing care home were not always safe from abuse and staff were not always able to recognise or respond to it, inspectors found.

A resident at The Maples in Tokers Green, near Reading, was at "high risk of injury" from damaged fixtures and fittings in their room, a report said.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated the home as inadequate and put it into special measures.

The Disabilities Trust, which runs the home, said it will improve.

It runs 20 other facilities across the country, including other homes in Berkshire which have been rated as good or outstanding.

At the time of the inspection in June, 13 people with a range of complex needs - including autism with associated sensory and communication difficulties - were living in three bungalows on the home site.

The bungalows were found to be in a "state of disrepair" and did not provide a "good standard of comfort of therapeutic surroundings" for residents.

'Not enough impact'

Inspectors said the home's management team was "open about the need to make improvements and had started to invest to develop the service" during the inspection.

But they said the changes had "not made enough impact to enable people to live full, inclusive or empowered lives" at the time.

The service was not safe, not well led, not effective, not responsive and not always caring, the watchdog said.

Inspectors were also "not assured" about the way the home was controlling Covid-19 and it was reliant on a "significant amount" of agency staff.

Irene Sobowale, the Disabilities Trust's chief executive, said it was "saddened" by the report and was taking improvements "extremely seriously".

She said it has installed a new management team at the home, which has reviewed all residents' care and will increase staff training and make building improvements.

"We are committed to listening to the views of the CQC, the people we support and others, as well as using our experience, to make any necessary improvements, in order for everyone at The Maples to live as full a life as possible," she added.