Care home in special measures over safety concerns

A care home has been placed in special measures after an inspection found multiple breaches in legal regulations.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated Woodview Care Centre in Lincoln, which supports people living with dementia and people with physical disabilities and mental health conditions, inadequate for being safe and well-led.

The commission said the care home would be kept under close review to keep people safe whilst improvements are being made.

The care centre said it was "deeply disappointed by the findings" and had taken immediate and decisive action to address the concerns raised.

The CQC said it carried out inspections at the care home, run by Woodview Care Ltd, in April and May after it received concerns about the safety, care and treatment of people using the service.

It said it found eight breaches of legal regulations around person-centred care, dignity and respect, consent, safe care and treatment, safeguarding, good management, safe staffing and recruitment procedures.

Areas including caring, responsive and effective were rated as requires improvement.

Greg Rielly, CQC deputy director of operations in the midlands, said: "Leaders and staff didn't always listen to, or learn from, concerns around people's safety, creating missed opportunities to improve care and minimise people's risk of injury."

He said staff and leaders did not work to improve people's lives or protect their right to live in a safe environment.

"Staff didn't always raise safeguarding concerns in line with the home's policy to ensure suspected abuse was appropriately reported and investigated," he added.

The CQC said the quality of care it found at Woodview Care Centre fell far below what it would expect.

It said leaders had been told where rapid improvements were expected and it would continue to monitor the service closely to see how their plans develop and keep people safe.

The CQC said it had also begun the process of taking regulatory action to address the concerns which Woodview Care Ltd had the right to appeal.

In a statement, the centre added: "A highly experienced new manager has been appointed to lead the service, bringing a strong background in both home management and regional oversight.

"We are actively collaborating with the local authority and the local health board, whose most recent visit on July 17 was both positive and encouraging.

"Significant progress has already been made, and we remain fully committed to continuous improvement and delivering the highest quality of care to our residents."

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