Bank House Care Home

This report summarises an inspection of Bank House Care Home, conducted by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The inspection focused on assessing the safety, effectiveness, caring nature, responsiveness, and leadership of the service provided. Overall, the findings indicate significant areas requiring improvement across several key aspects of care delivery. The report details specific concerns and identifies breaches of regulations, which necessitate urgent action from the provider to ensure residents' well-being and safety.

On safety, residents were not always protected from avoidable harm. There were ongoing issues with health and safety management, including fire and legionella risks. Furthermore, the safe administration of prescribed medicines was not consistently ensured, and risks such as falls and choking were not always effectively monitored or managed.

In terms of how effective the care is, the service did not always achieve good outcomes for residents. Care plans lacked sufficient detail and accuracy, and there were shortfalls in ensuring decisions were made in residents' best interests, particularly concerning those who lacked capacity. The support for residents with eating and drinking also required improvement, with some advice from specialists not being consistently followed.

Regarding caring practices, the inspection could not be fully assured that residents received a high-quality, compassionate, and caring service due to identified concerns. While residents generally felt safe and respected by staff, the effectiveness of care delivery was impacted by the other issues found.

In relation to responsiveness, systems were not fully in place to evidence that residents' needs were consistently met in line with best practices. Issues with care planning, medication management, and safeguarding meant that the service did not always adapt appropriately to residents' changing needs or concerns.

Concerning how well-led the service is, there was a continued lack of robust governance systems and clear oversight. The provider had not employed a registered manager, which is a requirement for safe and effective management. Systems for reporting and responding to concerns, including safeguarding and complaints, were not always followed, indicating a need for stronger leadership and management practices.