A Bracknell Forest care home has been put into special measures after being rated ‘inadequate’ by government healthcare inspectors.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) made the decision to make an unplanned inspection after being ‘prompted over concerns received about people’s safety and wellbeing’.

After observations, feedback from staff and assessment of risk assessments and medicine management the facility was deemed ‘inadequate’.

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Heathlands Care Home, managed by Windsar Care Limited was assessed as un-safe, poorly led and ineffective in it’s dealings with residents.

CQC examiners found those living at the care home, on, Cross Fell, Bracknell were at “risk of avoidable harm” because:

The management of medicine was not always safe.

Residents were at risk of falls due to misplacement of bed rails.

It wasn’t clear that accidents and incidents were not properly investigated.

They was not enough staff to support people to stay safe and well.

Residents were at risk of social isolation because the provider did not ensure activities were more personalised and people had opportunities for social engagement according to their interests.

In one instance, one person in the home had a care plan to manage diabetes which stated that their blood glucose levels should be monitored weekly.

Upon further inspection, the CQC were made aware that the patient had recently fallen and was at risk of low blood sugar.

Following this, no records had been maintained and inspectors were doubtful that a risk management plan was being followed.

After observing residents, healthcare inspectors came to the conclusion that they were at risk of social isolation. It was stated that the provider did not ensure activities were more personalised and people had opportunities for social engagement according to their interests.

One relative added, "Yeah that's one thing at the moment they haven't been able to recruit an Activity Coordinator.

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“They have puzzles and games but there is no structure as such".

The registered manager said during their visit that they had some extra staff to do activities during the day and one-to-one activities with people.

The CQC report said: “There was very little activities and engagement going on during two days of inspection. Staff did not have time to take people out for a walk in the garden. Staff were focused on completing the tasks and had little time to spend time with people.

Following the inspection, relatives and professionals were spoken to about their experience with the facility. Although the care home has been deemed inadequate, relatives were positive about the staff support and treatment that was received.

When assessing the care that was offered to residents, it was found that care staff did not always uphold people's privacy or respond in a way that maintained people's dignity.

Inspectors reported: “On the second day of our inspection, we observed one staff speaking to another staff about people still needing to have lunch.

“Referring to a person sitting nearby, the staff member said to their colleague, "Only this one left". This was not respectful, they did not use the person's name, and this dehumanised the person.

“We observed a number of interactions between staff and people where there was a lack of communication, reassurance, warmth or engagement.”

Throughout the inspection, the care home have been found to be in breach of various regulations under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

In the report, the inspectors said: “We took civil enforcement to ensure people's safety and ensure improvement occurred at the service.

“We served a warning notice to the provider following the inspection for the breach of regulation 17 (Good governance). A warning notice gives a date the service must be compliant by and we inspect again to check that compliance against the content is achieved within the timescale.”

A spokesperson from Windsar Care Ltd said: “Following the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) inspection in July 2022 of the Dementia Nursing Services, we were happy to receive some positive feedback from residents and families about the care at Heathlands care home. However, the report highlighted a number of areas where Windsar Care Ltd need to make significant improvements.

“Recognising this, we have acted promptly on the concerns highlighted in the report and taken immediate steps to address all of the key issues.

“This has included making some key changes in the management structure. To do this we worked with a reputable recruitment agency to hire senior staff with the right experience, knowledge, and skills to bring immediate improvements to our Heathlands facility.

“We are also working closely with all relevant partners, to implement those short-term improvements and build the long-term health of Heathlands.

“The CQC will undertake a further inspection of the facility in the coming months to ensure these required improvements are made. Our priority, whilst we work to make those improvements, is to ensure that residents are well cared for and safe at all times.”