What the CQC found at Eleanor Palmer Trust Home

People and relatives generally felt safe and were positive about the support they received.

“People and relatives told us they felt safe with the care and support they or their relative received.” from the report

People had access to a balanced diet, choices of food and drinks, and support to eat and drink when needed.

“People had access to a balanced and healthy diet.” from the report

Records showed that staff worked with health professionals and followed up healthcare referrals.

“People's care records confirmed staff worked in partnership with other health and care professionals including GP, speech and language therapist and tissue viability nurse.” from the report

Although staff training was incomplete, inspectors observed that staff understood people's individual needs.

“During the inspection we observed staff knew people well and understood their needs.” from the report

The kitchen, bathrooms and carpet had been replaced, and equipment was in adequate condition.

“The kitchen, several bathrooms and the carpet had been replaced since the last inspection and equipment used within the service was found to be in adequate condition.” from the report

An incident involving risk of harm was not properly recorded or investigated. Some concerns were not reported to CQC promptly, and staff safeguarding training was incomplete.

“We found that CQC had not been notified and the service did not have an appropriate system in place to monitor safeguarding alerts, record actions taken, identify trends and any lessons learnt.” from the report

Covert medicines did not have suitable instructions and records. Some staff had not been assessed recently, and storage and auditing problems were found.

“We found no evidence that people had been harmed however, systems were either not in place or robust enough to demonstrate medicines was effectively managed.” from the report

Some authorisations to deprive people of their liberty had expired, and new applications had not been made. The report says this meant people were being deprived of their liberty unlawfully.

“This meant people were unlawfully being deprived of their liberty.” from the report

Some mandatory training had not been completed or refreshed. Staff also reported limited supervision, low morale and a need for further training.

“Staff were not receiving appropriate training and support to enable them to deliver safe and effective care to people.” from the report

The provider had not assured itself that all agency staff were safely recruited. Nine employed staff did not have DBS checks renewed within the provider's stated five-year timescale.

“Processes and checks were either not in place or comprehensively completed to ensure safe staff recruitment.” from the report

Important audits, resident and staff feedback, and an improvement plan were missing at the time of inspection. This meant problems were not being identified and followed through reliably.

“Management oversight of the service was ineffective and did not identify the issues we found on the inspection.” from the report