'Upward trajectory' at home after report

TREELANDS Care Home

A FITTON Hill care home has been told it requires improvement in all areas following a Care Quality Commission inspection.

Treelands Care Home in Westerhill Road was rated "requires improvement" in all categories after the three-day unannounced inspection.

The home manager was suspended pending an investigation prior to the CQC's visit in January.

However a spokesperson for Handsale Limited, which runs the home, said all open investigations at the time of the inspection have now been completed.

They said improvements were being made at the time of the visit and this "upward trajectory" is the home's and board's focus.

Inspectors said in their report: "At the time of our inspection the registered manager had been suspended, pending an investigation and the deputy manager had temporarily taken over the role of manager.

"Following concerns raised by the local NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) the provider had been instructed to submit an action plan to the CCG which showed how they planned to address the concerns and make improvements. Our review of staff records found that staff had not received regular supervision.

"We saw that a considerable number of improvements had been made but some were still ongoing."

A new supervision schedule had been created and a review of Treelands management was under way to ensure there was "robust leadership."

Treelands houses up to 80 residents, including younger adults with more complex needs and those with varying degrees of dementia.

The CQC found there were various activities but raised concerns that "many people" on Oak unit remained in bed all day, putting them at risk of social isolation.

However they received "complimentary comments" about the staff from residents and relatives, as well as positive feedback from staff about changes taking place.

A spokesperson from Handsale said: "Treelands has recently undergone a big transition and feels like a brand new home. At the time of our CQC inspection, our wonderful staff team were in the middle of introducing changes to address the issues we'd previously identified ourselves.

"Since January, 100 per cent of staff have had supervisions and will continue to do so on a bi-monthly basis.

"One of our units has just been redecorated and we are having two new shower rooms installed next month.

"Positive goal plans such as helping bed-bound residents enjoy more time out of bed have provided great results.

"These are just some areas where change and improvement have been driven forward.

"Our attention, both at home and board level, has now turned to maintaining this upward trajectory with regards to best practice."