Yorkshire care home with 'insufficient staff to meet people's needs' rated inadequate

The watchdog found Minster Grange Care Home had “insufficient staff to meet people's needs” during an inspection in April and residents “were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives”.

The home, which cared for 58 people at the time of the inspection, was rated inadequate and it will be kept under review for the next six months while staff work to make improvements.

The CQC report, published yesterday, states: ”People were not safeguarded from the risk of harm.

“The building was not adequately secure. Incidents were not always recorded appropriately, the management team had not ensured action was taken to prevent future incidents occurring and that the appropriate people were informed.

“Procedures were not in place to safely support people in isolation in relation to the Covid-19 pandemic. This put people, staff, relatives and others at risk of the spread of infection.

“There was insufficient staff to meet people's needs. This meant people had to wait for personal care and meals and did not receive person centred care.”

It adds: “People were not fully supported with choices of meals. There were no menus in place and staff did not always know what was available for lunch to inform people.

“People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests.”

The Maria Mallaband Care Group, which owns the home, said it is working with staff to ensure “necessary improvements are made and sustained”.

A spokesman said: “The home is now under new leadership since the inspection in April to ensure an improved led service, and a recruitment drive is underway to increase the number of staff supporting the care needs of those living in our home."

“We are confident that we are making the necessary improvements and creating a positive care service since the initial inspection and look forward to demonstrating this at their next visit.”

Care home owners already struggling with a recruitment crisis are concerned they could lose more workers this winter when it will become a legal requirement for them to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The Government has stated that everyone working at registered care homes must be double jabbed by November 11, unless they are medically exempt, and they had until September 16 to receive their first dose.

NHS figures show 92.7 per cent of older adult care home workers in England had received at least one dose by September 19, but 33,849 had not had a single jab.

The Government will allow care home staff to self-certify that they meet the medical exemption criteria before the new NHS Covid pass system is introduced, but these exemptions will expire 12 weeks after its launch.

The CQC, which will enforce the mandatory jab policy, said it will “assess each situation individually” and “always take any action including using our enforcement powers to ensure people are protected”.