Garforth care home told it must improve after inspection revealed safeguarding concerns

A care home in Garforth has been told by a watchdog that it must improve

Springfield Care Home in Garforth was inspected in January by officials from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Its previous rating of good from an inspection two years ago was downgraded to “requires improvement” after a number of safeguarding concerns were raised by patients and relatives during the planned inspection.

69 people aged 65 and over live in the care home on Lowther Avenue, many of whom live with dementia.

According to the inspection report, safeguarding allegations and incidents had not always been reported to CQC or the local safeguarding team.

The report revealed one person had alleged the care home had committed financial abuse, and that this allegation was not correctly investigated by staff when reported.

Another care home resident suffered 13 unwitnessed falls in November and December of last year, which the report said showed lessons had not been learned about patient safety, and that in another incident a resident had suffered a head injury that wasn't reported to the CQC.

The report also found the care home did not have enough staff to treat all patients safely and that medications were not always handled correctly.

Risk assessments had not always contained the required level of detail to keep patients safe, according to the report.

A statement from a spokesperson for the care home group read: “We can confirm that following a CQC inspection in January 2021, a number of areas for improvement were identified at our Garforth Care Home.

We are disappointed to have fallen short of our own high standards and those of CQC in this instance.

“The team are working very hard on addressing the areas of concern identified and have already made significant progress.”

Springfield have provided care in homes across Yorkshire for over 50 years.

Some 1200 staff work at its sites in York, Ilkley, Seacroft and Garforth.

The group is due to open two more homes in Harrogate and Beverley this year.

The CQC said it will continue to monitor information received about the care home before its next planned inspection, and if any concerning information is received, it may inspect sooner.