Hadfield care home rated 'inadequate'

A residential care home in Hadfield has been rated 'overall inadequate', including allegations of 'bullying and intimidation' against people, staff, relatives and professionals and placing 'people at risk of harm'.

Jabulani is a residential home for people with learning disabilities, autism, neurological issues and other complex needs, and upon last year’s inspection in July, had new placements suspended by Tameside Council and the Tameside and Glossop Clinical Commissioning Group. 

The rating comes as part of a report provided by the Care Quality Commission during a routine but unannounced inspection on February 18 this year, which said that at Jabulani ‘privacy and dignity were not respected’ and that ‘risk assessments weren’t always in place.’ 

The service remains in special measures, following a drop in standards last year that led them to be put on an ‘appropriate action plan.’

Before inspecting, the CQC reviewed information they had received about the service since the last inspection, including a monthly report the provider was required to send after enforcement action was served.

It rated the service inadequate in terms of safety, effectiveness, response and if it was well-led and required improvement in terms of care.

The report added that the inspection ‘was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.’

It also said: “There was not a culture of person-centred, high quality care. People had experienced bullying, neglect and discrimination. 

“Incidents and near misses were not always investigated. Staff told us they were afraid of, and felt they were discouraged from raising concerns.

“Action was not always taken to protect people from abuse. 

“We found examples of people telling staff or management they had been verbally or physically abused. These had not always been investigated and had not been referred to the local safeguarding authority.

“Complaints were not handled in an open, transparent, objective or timely way. 

“There were many complaints that had not been responded to, we found one complaint that had not been responded to for two years. Some relatives told us they felt they couldn’t raise complaints. 

“The registered manager told us that one person’s family complained a lot so now their emails went straight to a spam email box and not all were responded to. 

“This demonstrated a lack of compassionate support when people or relatives raised a complaint.”

The report found that not enough improvement had been met from the last inspection regarding the safe storage, administration and recording of medicines, with people still not always receiving medicines as prescribed. 

One person had not received one of their medicines for four days. 

The report also noted that the building was cold throughout the inspection and the hot water in some people’s bathrooms was not hot enough to comfortably bathe or shower in, and that people’s independence was not promoted.

The overall rating of Jabulani was ‘Inadequate’ with the service remaining in ‘special measures’ and the CQC keeping the service under review. 

“If we do not propose to cancel the provider’s registration, we will re-inspect within six months to check for significant improvements,” the report said.

“If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe, and there is still a rating of ‘Inadequate’ for any key question or overall rating, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures. This will mean we will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. 

“This will usually lead to cancellation of their registration or to varying the conditions the registration.” 

The report added that the inspection was prompted in part because of concerns received about staffing levels, documentation, staff training and managerial support provided to staff. 

It also detailed that: “The provider did not have a credible statement of vision and values. Roles, responsibilities and accountability arrangements were not clear. There were a lack of governance and auditing systems and processes. 

“Medicine documentation was not always clear. 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 policies and systems in the service did not support this practice. 

“The physical environment was not decorated or adapted to a consistent standard to meet the needs of people living with physical disability.” 

The full report can be found online at https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-1174191657.