CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Merlin Manor Care Centre
Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.
What inspectors found, August 2023
Merlin Manor Care Centre is rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind, personalised care but serious fire safety and staffing problems.
This was the first inspection of the newly registered home. It was unannounced and took place over four visits in June and July 2023. Inspectors spoke with people, relatives and staff, and checked care, medicines, recruitment and management records.
The home was rated Good for effective, caring and responsive care. People were generally treated kindly and with respect. They received personalised support, medicines were managed safely, and activities and communication support were available.
The home was rated Requires Improvement for safety and leadership. Fire risks had not been properly addressed, staffing levels were not safely planned, and unwitnessed incidents meant people were not always protected from abuse. Governance checks had not consistently found or dealt with these problems. The provider must send CQC an action plan, and CQC will monitor progress with the local authority.
Kind and respectful care
People and relatives spoke positively about staff. Inspectors saw people receiving caring support and being treated with dignity.
“People were treated with dignity and respect. This included staff being friendly but professional when supporting people and respecting their personal boundaries.” from the report
Medicines managed safely
Inspectors found that people received their medicines when needed. Medicines were stored securely and records were clear.
“Medicines were safely and securely stored. Clear records of medicine use were kept, including Medicine Administration Records.” from the report
Personalised support and activities
Staff generally understood people's needs and choices and provided personalised care. People could take part in activities they enjoyed inside and outside the home.
“People took part in activities they enjoyed, within and outside of the service.” from the report
Good partnership working
The home worked with external professionals to support people's health and wellbeing and to provide the care people wanted.
“The service worked effectively with external professionals to promote people's health and wellbeing.” from the report
Fire safety
seriousIdentified fire risks had not been addressed safely. The fire risk assessment had been completed before people moved in and had not been reviewed afterwards.
“The provider had failed to ensure identified fire risks at the service were addressed.” from the report
Staffing and safeguarding
seriousStaffing was not effectively planned around people's needs. Inspectors saw delays in support, and unwitnessed incidents were linked by staff and professionals to periods when areas were left without staff.
“Systems had not been established to ensure sufficient numbers of staff were deployed. This placed people at risk of harm.” from the report
Weak governance checks
seriousManagement checks did not always identify or deal with risks. Monthly audits had not always been completed, and the report says this was affected by several management changes.
“Systems had not been established to assess, monitor and mitigate risks to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service.” from the report
Incomplete care records
needs fixingSome records did not fully describe the care people wanted, and some dietary preferences were not recorded. The manager said these records would be reviewed.
“In some cases we saw records were missing information on the care people wanted.” from the report
- 01What actions have been completed to address the fire risks, and when was the new fire risk assessment completed?
- 02How do you now calculate staffing levels from people's actual support needs, and how do you cover times when staff are helping people with two-person care or giving medicines?
- 03What has changed to prevent unwitnessed incidents and protect people from abuse?
- 04How often are management audits now completed, and how are problems recorded and followed through?
- 05Which care records, dietary preferences and legal authorisation conditions were corrected after the inspection, and how are they checked now?
This was the first unannounced inspection of the newly registered care home and covered all five CQC questions, including the premises and nursing or personal care provided. This explanation was written from the published report of 2 August 2023 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Merlin Manor Care Centre
Each visit the CQC has published, newest first, back to the day the home was registered.
- August 2023Requires improvementcurrent ratingSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2022
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 27 July 2022.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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43 live-in carers within about an hour of Hartlepool
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £970 to £1,120 a week. 40 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“I found Alison to be kind , caring helpful concencious... Alison has a heart of gold”
“Petty introduced herself to Mum every time she was caring for her and responded very quickly to Mum if she was distressed in the night.”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.