Hawthorn House
Lichfield, WS13
ResidentialDementia
Rated 7 years agocare home
CQC report explained · a residential care home, run by Staffordshire County Council
Greenfield House
Greenfields House, Springfield Road, Leek, ST13 6LQ
Requires improvementpublished 17 November 2023, 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
- Medicines were not always managed safely, and some building checks, repairs, care plans and risk assessments were not reliable or up to date. CQC found no evidence of harm, but said people were placed at risk.
- Effective?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. CQC used the previous rating for areas that were not inspected.
- Caring?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. CQC used the previous rating for areas that were not inspected.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. CQC used the previous rating for areas that were not inspected.
- Well-led?
- Requires improvement
- Management audits and checks did not reliably identify missing medicine records, incomplete care plans, training gaps or other risks. CQC said governance systems were not robust enough.
The latest report, explained
What inspectors found, November 2023
Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind care and enough staff, but medicines, building safety and management checks were not reliable.
This was an unannounced focused inspection after concerns about management. One inspector visited on 11 and 12 September 2023, observed care, spoke with relatives and staff, and checked care, medicine, recruitment and management records.
The home was not always safe. Medicines records were incomplete or unclear, some care plans and risk assessments were out of date, and some fire, emergency lighting and water checks had not been completed. Some fire doors also needed repairs that had not been completed quickly.
The home was rated Requires Improvement overall, and also Requires Improvement for Safe and Well-led. The previous overall rating was Good in 2019. The other areas were not inspected during this visit, so their earlier ratings were used.
What inspectors praised
Kind staff
Staff knew people and their care needs well. Inspectors said they promoted dignity and privacy.
“Staff were kind and promoted people's dignity and privacy.” from the report
Staffing and recruitment
Inspectors found enough staff available to support people. Required pre-employment checks had been completed for the staff files reviewed.
“People were supported by enough safely recruited staff.” from the report
Safeguarding knowledge
Staff knew how to report and record concerns about abuse and harm. The manager reviewed this information.
“Staff we spoke with told us where to access safeguarding policies and procedures, how to report and record incidents and this was reviewed by the registered manager.” from the report
Open culture
Relatives and staff said they could approach management. The home involved relatives in updates and meetings.
“Management promoted an open and inclusive culture among people, relatives and staff.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
Medicine records
seriousThere were discrepancies and missing or unclear records for some medicines. This made it difficult to confirm that medicines had been given safely and as prescribed.
“This meant the registered manager could not be assured the person received this medicine safely and as prescribed.” from the report
Fire and building safety
seriousSome required safety checks were missed, and some fire doors did not close when the alarm went off. Repairs had not been completed quickly.
“However, repairs had not been undertaken swiftly and this meant people remained at risk of harm should there be a fire.” from the report
Care plans and risk assessments
seriousSome records did not reflect people's current needs. The report gave an example where a person's seizure information had not been updated after it changed.
“Some people did not have accurate and up to date care plans and risk assessments in place.” from the report
Weak management checks
seriousAudits did not identify several important problems, including missing medicine guidance, incomplete monitoring records and training that was not up to date.
“Governance systems were not robust enough to demonstrate safety was effectively managed. This placed people at risk of harm.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
- 01Have all missing or unclear medicine records been corrected, including records for pain relief patches and medicines given when needed?
- 02Have the fire doors, emergency lighting checks, fire checks and water temperature checks been brought up to date?
- 03How are care plans and risk assessments checked when a person's needs change?
- 04What system now makes sure staff complete required refresher training?
- 05What progress has been made on the action plan sent to CQC?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the other ratings were carried over from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 17 November 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.
The story over the years
Every inspection of Greenfield House
3 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.
- November 2023Requires improvementcurrent ratingdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- June 2019Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- November 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- February 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- August 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 26 November 2010.
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.
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