Skip to content
CQC ExplainedEvery inspection report, in plain English

CQC report explained · a nursing home, run by Landona House

Florence Mill Care Home

Egerton Street, Warrington, WA1 2DF

Requires improvementpublished 29 March 2024, 2 years ago

Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the service was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.

The five questions inspectors ask
Safe?
Requires improvement
Inspectors found that medicines were not always managed safely. Other safety arrangements had improved, including risk assessments, staffing, safeguarding and incident reviews.
Effective?
Requires improvement
This key question was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was used when calculating the overall rating.
Caring?
Requires improvement
This key question was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was used when calculating the overall rating.
Responsive?
Requires improvement
This key question was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was used when calculating the overall rating.
Well-led?
Requires improvement
The provider's checks identified some issues but did not always make sure they were fixed across the home. Care planning records were not always current or detailed enough.
The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, March 2024

Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found safer care than before, but medicines and the home's improvement systems were still not reliable enough.

This was an unannounced focused inspection on 4 and 15 May 2023. Inspectors spoke with 27 people, 6 family members and 15 staff. They observed care and checked care, medicine, recruitment and management records.

The home had improved since the previous inspection. People told inspectors they felt safe and spoke positively about staff. Risks were assessed, staffing levels were sufficient, safeguarding systems were in place and the home worked with outside professionals.

There were still important problems. Some medicines were not given at the prescribed times, and instructions for some as-needed medicines were incomplete. Care records were not always up to date or detailed enough. The checks used by the provider had not always led to the improvements needed.

The overall rating remains Requires Improvement. Safe improved from Inadequate to Requires Improvement, while Well-led remained Requires Improvement. The report says the home remained in breach of regulations about safe care and treatment and good governance.

What inspectors praised

  • People felt safe

    People told inspectors they felt safe. Staff knew how to respond to safeguarding concerns, and accidents and incidents were reviewed.

    “People felt safe living at the service.” from the report

  • Kind and respectful staff

    People spoke positively about staff and said they were treated with dignity and respect. Inspectors saw that staff knew people well.

    “People were supported by staff who knew them well and it was evident that positive relationships had been formed.” from the report

  • Enough staff

    Inspectors found sufficient staff on duty and effective recruitment procedures.

    “Sufficient numbers of staff were on duty to meet the needs of people.” from the report

  • Choice and partnership working

    The home supported people to make choices and used outside professionals to help meet their needs.

    “People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about

  • Medicines were not always safe

    serious

    Information about blood glucose monitoring differed for two people. Some medicines were not given at the prescribed times, and instructions for some as-needed medicines were incomplete.

    “Information about how to safely administer as and when required medicines was either not always in place or did not contain enough information to ensure medicines were administered safely and only when needed.” from the report

  • Checks did not drive enough improvement

    serious

    The home's audits and checks found some problems but did not always make sure they were corrected across the service. This included medicines, kitchen areas and care records.

    “Governance systems had not been robust enough to drive improvement.” from the report

  • Care records were not always complete

    needs fixing

    Some care planning documents did not contain current and detailed guidance about people's individual needs, monitoring and care.

    “We identified that not all people's care planning documents contained up to date and detailed information and guidance to staff about people's specific care needs, how they were monitored and delivered.” from the report

  • Kitchen areas needed attention

    needs fixing

    Inspectors found problems with food storage and the cleanliness and management of small kitchen units. The registered manager took immediate action after this was raised.

    “However, we identified that improvements needed to be made in relation to the storage and management of food; cleanliness and management of the small kitchen units around the service.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01What has been done to ensure medicines are given at the prescribed times?
  2. 02How are staff now told when and how to give as-needed medicines safely?
  3. 03How will you check that care plans are up to date and give staff enough detail about each person's needs?
  4. 04What changes have been made to food storage and the small kitchen areas since the inspection?
  5. 05What evidence can you show that the warning notice about medicines has been met?

This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the other key question ratings were carried over from the previous inspection when calculating the overall rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 29 March 2024 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.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Florence Mill Care Home

5 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.

  1. March 2024Requires improvementcurrent ratingstayed Requires improvement
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read what inspectors found at Florence Mill Care Home →

  2. August 2022Requires improvementstayed Requires improvement
    Safe: InadequateWell-led: Requires improvement

    We are reading this report · the original is on cqc.org.uk

  3. July 2021Requires improvementstayed Requires improvement
    Safe: InadequateWell-led: Requires improvement
  4. December 2019Requires improvementdown from Good
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
  5. April 2017Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
  6. February 2022

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 7 February 2022.

Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission. A service can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections, not every contact the CQC has had with the service.

Another option

Or stay at home with a private carer

Many people who look at care homes end up staying at home with a carer who comes in for a few hours a day, or lives in. PrimeCarers introduces you to self-employed carers you choose yourself: interviewed, ID and DBS checked, from about £20 an hour or £1,120 a week live-in.

About live-in careHow PrimeCarers works
Same provider

Other services run by Landona House Limited

11 other services on the CQC register. A pattern across a group tells you more than one report.

Delamere Lodge

Middlesbrough, TS3
Requires improvement
NursingDementia
Rated 4 months agocare home

Ferndale Mews

Widnes, WA8
Good
NursingDementia
Rated 6 years agocare home
Nearby

Other care homes near Warrington

All in Warrington

Cromwell Court

Warrington, WA1 · 0.3 km
Good
NursingDementia
Rated 4 years agocare home

Riverside Point

Warrington, WA1 · 0.4 km
Outstanding
Residential
Rated 6 years agocare home

Bridgewell House

Warrington, WA4 · 1.9 km
Good
Residential
Rated 5 years agocare home