The Paddocks Care Home

“At our last assessment in 2021 the provider had been in breach of 4 regulations relating to safe care, safeguarding, good governance and failing to notify CQC about significant events. At this assessment we identified continued breaches of regulation relating to safe care and good governance. We also identified new breaches relating to safe and effective staffing and meeting people’s nutritional and hydration needs.”

“Staffing levels did not ensure people were kept safe and a high level of agency cover meant staff were not always able to meet people’s needs. Medicines needed more robust management and communication required improvement to ensure people received medicines, including end of life medicines, in a timely way. The environment required some improvements to make it safer for people and reduce risks from fire and scalding.”

“Our assessment coincided with an amber alert heatwave, and we found people’s fluids were not well managed leaving some people noticeably thirsty. Recording of people’s fluids could not be relied on to give an accurate picture. Oversight of this and management of the heatwave in general was very poor.”

“People were treated with kindness, and we observed some compassionate care. However, the high number of new and agency staff and poor communication systems meant people’s needs were not always fully understood and some care was task focused.”

“Management and oversight of the service was not effective, and audits and improvement plans had not identified the serious issues we found. Management of the service was not robust, and some key posts were vacant which meant it was difficult to bring about the required changes and improvements. Some of these posts have been filled since our assessment concluded. The culture at the service was not always viewed as a supportive one, with some staff describing it as punitive. Considerable work is needed to address the issues we found and give staff and people who use the service full confidence in the leadership of the service. The provider gave us some assurances that they were already taking steps to make the required changes. The service remains in special measures.”