Watchdog says Wraxall care home The Granary Care Centre 'fails to meet care standards'

A REPORT on a care home at Wraxall – where two staff were arrested on suspicion of neglect and assault of a patient – has revealed it is failing to meet the majority of required care standards.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) made an unannounced visit to The Granary Care Centre at Lodge Lane in January.

The visit came just days before two male care workers were arrested on suspicion of neglect and assault.

Both have been suspended from their duties and released on bail pending further investigation while an inquiry is carried out. Residents and relatives were told of the arrests at a special meeting at the home.

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A report by the CQC released this week revealed that the home, which cares for up to 78 people over 65, needed to take action to improve the care and welfare of people which use the service.

Inspectors also said the home, run by Shaw Healthcare, failed to safeguard those who used the service from abuse and action was needed to improve staffing and to support workers.

They also said action was needed in assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision. The report did however show the home was meeting the required standards of consent to care and treatment.

CQC inspectors said following their visit they had concerns about the quality of care and support people experienced and that more needed to be done to ensure that risks to people's safety and wellbeing were reduced.

They said that the staffing arrangements at the home were a significant factor in relation to these concerns and there were not enough staff to ensure that people's needs were consistently met.

They added that the training plan for the staff team did not reflect the specialist nature of the service and this meant that people were at risk of receiving care from staff who lack the skills and support they needed to do their job well. Inspectors said that some systems were in place for quality assurance but were not effective in ensuring good standards were maintained.

The CQC has now given Shaw Healthcare until March 7 to set out the action it will take to ensure standards are met.

A CQC spokesman said: "The inspection found that Shaw Healthcare (Wraxall) Limited was not meeting one or more essential standards and that improvements are needed.

"The provider must send us a report that says what action they are going to take to meet these essential standards. We will follow up to make sure that improvements are made.

Where standards are not reached the CQC has a range of enforcement powers it can use to protect the health, safety and welfare of people at the home.

The Granary is a two-storey centre for up to 60 people with dementia and also has specialist separate healthcare unit for up to 18 people. Concerns were first raised with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) last June in relation to the care and welfare of people at the home. A joint investigation by North Somerset Council, Avon and Somerset Police, the Care Quality Commission and Shaw Healthcare into the allegations against the two male care workers has been launched. The Granary, which opened in November 2008 and is described as Shaw Healthcare's 'new purpose built centre of excellence for dementia care' employs 140 staff.

A spokesperson for Shaw healthcare said: "The findings of the recent CQC inspection at The Granary have been taken extremely seriously. Following receiving a draft version of the inspection report the areas identified as requiring improvement received immediate attention. We continue to work closely with North Somerset Council to ensure standards are maintained."