Northwood Care Home in Blackburn has been downgraded

Northwood Nursing and Residential Care Home in Preston New Road, Blackburn, provides accommodation and nursing care for up to 27 people in one adapted building, with bedrooms over three floors.

It was previously rated ‘good’ but following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried in June of three areas – safe, effective and well-led – inspectors found all three areas required improvement.

The CQC noted that medicines had not always administered as prescribed, and the stock of medicines in the home did not match what records stated had been administered, raising concerns that some medicines may not have been given correctly.

A report stated: “People ran out of medicines as they were not ordered in time. One person missed nine doses and another person missed seven doses of pain-relieving medicines.

“One person also missed a weekly patch application for a pain-relieving medicine for seven days.

“This increased the risk of people experiencing unwanted symptoms and discomfort.

“Staff did not record when time specific medicines were administered, so we could not be sure they had been given appropriately.

“For example, the times that paracetamol was administered was not always recorded, which meant it was impossible to tell if the required four-hour interval between doses had been adhered to.

“This placed people at risk of receiving too much or too little medication.

“For people who needed their fluid intake monitored, staff did not always record what people had been given and a daily intake total for each person was not done as requested by the dietician.”

Inspectors also found several radiators without appropriate covers on them, posing a risk of scalding if the temperature became too hot.

Thickening powder used to thicken fluids had been left in the dining area where people could access it.

A fire risk assessment was in place. However, there were concerns in relation to fire safety including people's emergency evacuation plans which were not always up to date and accurate.

People's mobility care plans and risk assessments held conflicting information on how people mobilised which could lead to confusion.

The report went on: “The provider responded immediately during and after the inspection and ensured all radiators had an appropriate covering on, updated people's emergency evacuation plans and ensured people's care plans and risk assessments were reflective of their current needs.”

Despite this, inspectors still found that infection prevention and control measures were not always safe as toiletries in multiple communal bathrooms were found unlabelled, which posed an infection risk; and towels in communal bathrooms and communal loofahs were found, which again posed an infection risk.

There were cleaning records in place but there were gaps where it looked as though cleaning had not taken place for several days, and areas of the home needed repair.

Recruitment was also raised as an issue as some protocols for hiring had not been followed and residents believed there was not enough staff, with employees described as being, “kind but under pressure”.

Staff had also been found to have limited knowledge of the deprivation of liberty safeguards and some residents had not been informed of CCTV use within the care home, however the provider responded immediately by ensuring signage was put up around the home signalling the use of CCTV.

The CQC noted that governance processes were not always effective at improving the quality and safety of the service and despite auditing tools being in place, they did not pick up on concerns found during the inspection process.

Northwood was told to complete an action plan so inspectors could understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety before the next inspection.

Northwood Nursing and Residential Care home has been contacted for comment.