Care home in Louth confident it is improving after watchdog worries
A care home in Louth says it is confident that worries about the way it is run can be rectified after a review by the national health watchdog.
Madeira House, on High Holme Road, was given a rating of ‘Requires Improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after inspectors visited in January.
But it was found that most of the problems were “linked to the previous registered manager”, and that feedback from residents and their relatives was “overall positive”.
Indeed, the home was rated ‘Good’ in three categories, relating to how effective, caring and responsive it is.
Madeira House is one of 36 homes across the UK run by the long-standing and respected London-based company, Advinia Health Care.
It provides residential care for adults living with dementia or Parkinson’s disease, as well as palliative care and convalescence stays.
A spokesperson for Advinia said: “We welcome the latest CQC report, which highlights positive feedback from residents and professionals, as well as good standards in cleanliness, medicines management and safety.
“The CQC also recognises the impact of our new leadership team in driving positive change.
"We are committed to building on this progress, including the areas identified needing improvement, to ensure our wonderful residents continue to receive the highest quality care in a safe and supportive environment.”
The CQC report said “This assessment was in response to concerns we had received about quality of care, cleanliness, poor governance and leadership, medicines, managing risks and keeping people safe.
"We found there were areas of improvement in relation to staffing numbers and support, the accuracy of care reports and leadership. These resulted in breaches of two regulations.”
However, the inspectors said they did not find any other major issues and added: “The provider (Advinia) has recognised performance concerns with the previous manager and has taken action to address these.
"The new temporary manager and senior managers are changing the culture and are more responsive and approachable.
"We found the provider to be open, honest and proactive about actions already taken and how they intended to continue to improve.”
The CQC also found that residents and relatives had “a new confidence that things would improve” thanks to the newly-appointed manager starting to change the ethos and delivery of care”.
In the past, they had felt they were “not always listened to”, especially with regard to staffing levels. But now they “felt able to raise concerns, had no complaints and felt safe”.
The report went on: “Residents told us their choices were always respected, and the staff did their best to take time and effort to understand them.
"They felt the home was well-maintained and kept clean, and they were aware of the refurbishment taking place. Staff did their best to support good hygiene levels and encouraged residents to be as independent as possible.”
Madeira House’s new manager is Jack Titterton, who says on the home’s website: “This is a fantastic home, and the team are dedicated. kind people. We look forward each day to providing care and support with love.”