Luton care home criticised by health watchdog - and told it must do better

A Luton care home has been criticised by the health watchdog for a catalogue of errors in looking after residents.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found Georgina House needed improvement for all of the five areas it looked at, including being safe, caring and effective.

The report stated: “The service (or staff) did not support people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence be independent and they did not had control over their own lives. Some people had personal items locked away without any reasonable rationale for this. Staff used a stairgate for another person to block their access to the kitchen, this had not been reviewed to look at less restrictive options.”

The home, on Malzeard Road, offers residential care for up to four residents. But the report stated staff did not focus on people's strengths or promote what they could do.

"People were not encouraged to do things for themselves or learn new skills to empower them to have ownership over their home. This included areas such as cooking, cleaning and laundry,” it said. “People were not supported to identify their dreams and aspirations. People had no meaningful goals in place and goals that were in place showed no evidence of how they would be achieved or any progress and outcomes.”

It said there was care and support in a safe, clean and well maintained environment but size and layout meant people’s sensory needs were not always met.

It said: “People did not always receive kind and compassionate care. Staff did not always protect and respect people's dignity. People unable to communicate easily were often ignored and one person was left wearing odd shoes.

"People did not lead inclusive and empowered lives because of the ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of staff. People did not always receive good quality care, support and treatment because staff did not have the right training and support.”

The watchdog said a new registered manager was now in post and had made some progress with improvements. But the report added: “The provider did not offer sufficient training and support to the registered manager and staff team to ensure they had the knowledge and skills to apply learning and promote a quality of life for people that empowered them and promoted valuing people and equality.

“We have identified breaches in relation to personalised care, the environment, upholding people's dignity and respect, staff training and provider oversight at this inspection.”

The home care provider has been told to prepare an action plan and work with the CQC and Luton Council to monitor progress.

A spokesman for the home said: “We are disappointed in the findings from this inspection and have taken action. We’re pleased to read that inspectors found the service gave people care and support in a safe, clean and well-maintained environment, and that our team supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcomes. In other areas, we are working to make improvements to enable us to provide the full range of activities to fully enrich residents’ care. These improvements include a full review of people’s goals and aspirations to better support residents’ individual needs, as well as additional training for our colleagues and a new electronic records system.”