The Avenues Care Centre

This report summarizes an inspection of The Avenues Care Centre, a residential home providing care for up to 62 older people and those with dementia. The inspection focused on the safety and leadership of the service, noting that while residents and relatives generally feel safe, the service faces significant challenges in ensuring consistent safety and effective management. The report details specific areas for improvement, particularly concerning risk assessment, medication management, staff recruitment and training, and the overall effectiveness of leadership oversight.

On safety, while some residents feel safe, concerns were identified regarding the lack of comprehensive risk assessments for new residents and individuals with specific health needs like epilepsy and diabetes. Medication management requires improvement, with instances of unsafe covert administration and potential fire hazards from certain creams not being adequately addressed. Staffing levels were insufficient at times, impacting the timely administration of medicines, and recruitment processes had not always ensured staff were of good character and adequately skilled, including missing DBS checks for some employees. Infection control measures were generally effective, but the registered manager's awareness of updated national guidance on face masks was noted as a gap. Safeguarding training was not consistently completed by all staff.

In terms of how effective the care is, the report highlights a need for more robust planning and oversight. Care plans were not always in place for individuals with complex needs, and risk assessments were not consistently updated, leaving some residents at risk.

Regarding how caring the service is, people and their relatives generally described staff as kind and caring. There were no restrictions on visitors, allowing families to spend time with their loved ones as they wished.

In relation to being responsive, the report indicated that systems were not always in place to understand and act on feedback from residents and their families. A lack of an open culture meant staff might not feel confident sharing information about accidents for thorough investigation.

Concerning how well-led the service is, leadership and management oversight were inconsistent. Robust checks and audits were not always effective in identifying and addressing shortfalls. For example, recruitment audits failed to identify issues found during the inspection. Accident and incident monitoring was not consistently completed, and care plans and risk assessments were often overdue for review, meaning staff did not always have the most up-to-date information about residents' needs. While the provider has put an action plan in place following the inspection, ongoing monitoring and significant improvements are needed.