The Gables

People and relatives were positive about the care staff. People said staff knew them well and responded when they used the call bell.

“People told us they were happy and had their care needs met by care staff who knew them well.” from the report

Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs, and recruitment checks had been completed safely.

“Staff had been recruited safely into the service and there were enough staff to meet the needs of the people living at The Gables.” from the report

People had a choice of food and their dietary needs were catered for. The cook understood people's nutritional needs.

“People spoke positively about the food and drink they received at The Gables.” from the report

The communal lounges and bathrooms were mostly clean on the inspection days, although infection-control systems still had important gaps.

“The home was found to be mostly clean in communal lounges and bathrooms on the days of our inspection” from the report

Incidents including falls, injuries and a high-risk medicines error were not always investigated or referred to safeguarding authorities. The home did not have a reliable process for learning from incidents.

“People had been harmed or placed at risk of harm without external scrutiny of the home.” from the report

Risk assessments were missing for areas including falls, skin integrity, nutrition, oral hygiene and diabetes. Inspectors also found an exposed sharp metal pipe and an uncovered radiator in areas people used.

“People had been placed at risk of avoidable harm.” from the report

Instructions and records for as-required medicines, sedatives, creams and eye gels were incomplete. This meant people could receive medicines late, unnecessarily or after they should have been discarded.

“People had been placed at risk of harm from medicines that were not managed properly and safely.” from the report

Records did not show that consent had been sought for care. Mental capacity assessments and best-interest decisions were missing for some restrictions, including bed rails and a lap belt.

“The Gables did not ensure it obtained people's consent to care and treatment.” from the report

Staff had not received all the training needed for people's care needs, including diabetes, catheter care, pressure care and positive behaviour support. Staff did not always receive supervision.

“Staff had not been provided with the training necessary to meet the needs of the people living at the home” from the report

Audits and governance systems did not identify or correct widespread problems. Staff were not always clear who was responsible for key tasks when the manager was away.

“There was a lack of governance and oversight of The Gables, this had led to shortfalls and people had been harmed and were at risk of harm.” from the report