'Inadequate'-rated Kinross care home in Portsmouth fined £1,200 after not reporting sexual abuse claims properly

URGENT improvements are being made in city care homes after a 20-bed home was hit with a £1,200 fine for not reporting sexual abuse claims properly.
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Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission said it was prepared to use enforcement powers to force improvements in homes across Portsmouth.

The warning came after the city was ranked the worst area for care homes in the watchdog’s annual State of Care report in 2019.

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Some improvements have been made with an increase in the number of ‘good’ ratings, up from 18 to 46, since the October report was published. It was based on findings from July.

Kinross Residential Care Home in Havant Road, Drayton, Portsmouth. Picture: Sarah Standing (020120-3527)Kinross Residential Care Home in Havant Road, Drayton, Portsmouth. Picture: Sarah Standing (020120-3527)
Kinross Residential Care Home in Havant Road, Drayton, Portsmouth. Picture: Sarah Standing (020120-3527)
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Inspectors handed the Drayton facility in Havant Road the worst possible rating in two out of five areas, and ‘inadequate’ overall.

Reports by the CQC flagged a series of concerns, including a lack of qualified staff and incidents of sexual abuse not reported to safeguarding teams.

The report uncovered 15 allegations of sexual abuse - with 12 not having been investigated or referred to safeguarding.

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Overall there were 16 incidents of abuse or allegations over two months that had not been reported to CQC.

CQC inspector Steve Evans said the home has paid the fine and is sending monthly reports so its improvements can be monitored.

He said: ‘When there has been a breach of a regulation there are a whole range of actions we can take, from requiring monthly reports to a criminal prosecution.

‘The seriousness of the matter in this instance did not justify prosecution, but the threshold of evidence is the same for a fine.’

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The care home had previously received an inadequate rating in December 2018.

The report has led to the owners, Bethesda Healthcare Ltd, to install ‘a completely new team of staff and a new management team’ at the home, according to operations manager Bart Kulczycky.

He said: ‘We are working with the CQC to make the changes suggested.

‘We have done everything we can to improve our next report.

‘The inspector seems happy, and we have had many glowing reports from the council — in addition, we have had a purchase restriction lifted by Portsmouth City Council.’

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In its State of Care report published in the autumn the CQC said: ‘Among residential homes for example, the poorest quality area.. is Portsmouth, where only 18 out of 30 rated homes (60 per cent) are good or outstanding.

‘This contrasts with 14 local authorities where more than 95 per cent are rated as good or outstanding.’

The ranking is based on the proportion of locations rated as good or outstanding as of July 31

The CQC told The News that since the report was published, the ratings in the city had gone up and there were now 46 care homes and providers rated as ‘good’ in Portsmouth, one rated as ‘outstanding’, 19 rated as ‘requires improvement’ and one rated ‘inadequate’.

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Rebecca Bauers, CQC head of inspection for adult social care in the south said: ‘We have continued to work with providers and partners to improve services for people who need to use them.

‘This has included working closely with providers who are repeatedly rated as “requires Improvement” by supporting them to identify issues to improve quality of services.

‘But, in some cases this has also been about utilising our enforcement powers to drive through necessary improvements. We have seen this positive impact materialise in the last six months.

‘Most importantly it is about celebrating the success of those services providing consistent good care.’

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Bethesda Healthcare Ltd owns Oaklands Care Home, in Waterlooville and Otterbourne Grange Residential Care Home, in Winchester, both of which were rated as ‘requires improvement’ by CQC after their last inspections.

The company also owns Westhampnett Nursing Home, in Chichester, which was rated as ‘good’ after their latest inspection by the regulator.

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