March care home Aria Court needs an action plan to improve says Care Quality Commission

A care home needs to improve and has been asked by a Government watchdog to provide an action plan to address concerns including safety around medication.

Aria Court in Coronation Close, off Wimblington Road in March was assessed between April 30 and June 14 by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after the body received complaints and concerns over safeguarding.

The report published this week on the home, which is run by Athena Care Homes, found Aria Court requires improvement overall.

It said the home requires improvement when it comes to being safe and well-led, although the inspectors rated it as good at being effective, caring, and responsive.

The report said some people and their relatives had told the CQC about issues they had experienced with elements of poor care and communication.

But said the report: “In general, people and their relatives told us they were happy with the support staff provided. Staff knew how to report a safeguarding concern and the action to take following an incident.”

However, some staff reported that feedback to improve the quality of care and to ensure people’s safety was “not taken seriously or acted upon by some current and previous senior staff.

The staff also had “significant” concerns about staffing levels.

Among concerns raised by families were the skills of some staff, and the report said: “We observed some staff not effectively communicating or responding to people, particularly during lunchtime.”

The report continued: “We found evidence that a number of people have been assessed as high risk of malnutrition. One relative told us that the staff has 'no time to sit with people and give them time’.”

The inspectors said: “During lunchtime, we observed people who needed support and encouragement to eat left with their meals due to lack of available staff.”

The staff themselves told inspectors that people could have to “wait hours” for their personal care and admitted that if “you rush you do mess up, creams get missed”.

The staff also said they have no time to sit and talk to residents to calm them down when they get aggressive.

Residents and their families had, in the main, given positive feedback regarding support from staff and felt safe.

Relatives of family members who were unable to call for assistance felt assured that staff were regularly checking them and safely assisting them to move positions when required.

But the inspectors said: “However, we saw people in poor positions that staff had not identified. We also heard people calling out and available staff not responding.

“We received mixed opinions of the activities provided. One relative said there was a good selection. Another relative said that their family member was left in their room too much, stating that they were not able to communicate ‘but would benefit from being with others,’ which would promote their well-being.”

The report also said there was a lack of evidence of personalised activities, particularly for people being cared for in their rooms.

Since the last inspection, there continue to be improvements required in relation to safe medication management.

The report said: “We found three breaches of legal regulation in relation to good governance, safe and effective staffing, and safe care and treatment.

“Governance systems were not effective in addressing areas for improvement. Care plan audits did not identify insufficient information in care plans to guide staff. Medication audits did not identify expired medication.”

The inspectors concluded: “We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment. Although care plans included guidance from other services they were not always up-to-date, or person-centred.”