Fareham luxury care home still in special measures despite '˜improvements'

Gracewell of Fareham, in Parker View, was placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) earlier this year and given an overall rating of ‘inadequate.

A follow-up inspection took place in May and the watchdog has decided to keep the home in special measures as there was still concerns about residents’ care plans.

Inspectors had previously found that the home’s staff did not follow residents’ care plans, that the service was poorly led, staff had become demoralised and that some were ‘not caring or respectful’ to the home’s 69 residents on occasions.

However, the report of May’s inspection found ‘improvements had been made’ as all care plans had been audited and rewritten, steps had been taken to improving residents’ care and that staff morale had improved.

The report, which was published on July 6 read: ‘At this inspection, we found that improvements had been made. People we spoke with were happy they were living in a safe environment.

‘The provider had put in place new systems to protect people from avoidable harm and we found both nursing and care staff to be open, confident and informed about people’s cares and needs.

‘The provider had recruited a full team of qualified nurses and established new nurse-led teams and the interim home manager told us staff morale and confidence had improved.’

However, once again care plans were seen as a cause of concern by the inspectors.

The report continued: ‘One person said they did not know about their care plan. Another person told us they had been involved in a review of their care plan. They said, “The carer asked me the same questions as when I came in.”

A statement on behalf of the care home said: ‘The health and wellbeing of everyone we support is always our number one priority, and we are constantly working to improve our services.

‘We understand there is still work to be done, and we will ensure that all actions in the report are acted upon as we continue to make improvements.’