A BRIERLEY Hill care home has been given another rating of ‘requires improvement’ from the CQC.

Amberley Care Home was given a new rating on May 30 after a recent inspection – prompted by the death of a resident.

The care home, in Stourbridge Road, has had a ‘requires improvement’ rating since 2018.

In a new report, the CQC (Care Quality Commission) rated the service as ‘requires improvement’ for the categories looking at whether the home was safe and effective; while the category looking at whether the home was well-led was scored as inadequate.

In their report, inspectors said people’s medicines were not always managed safely.

It said: “There was a lack of information and guidance to guide staff on how and when to offer people's 'when required' (PRN) medicines and how to apply their topical medicines.”

The report added that the risks to people’s health and safety was not always identified and managed and people did not always receive consistent support to reduce known risks.

It said provider failed to implement effective systems to assess, monitor and improve the service.

Inspectors also said that residents were “not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests”.

The report acknowledged there were enough staff to meet people's needs and that staff were recruited safely.

It also noted that people had said they felt safe, they were encouraged and supported to eat and drink and staff knew people well.

However, it added: “Records did not provide clear guidance for staff to follow when supporting people.”

The report added: “Staff worked with other professionals to ensure people received a joined-up approach to their care. Relatives told us they were kept informed of accidents and incidents involving their loved ones.”

To see the full report visit: https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-584109130/reports

The report said the last rating for the service, issued in January 2022, was ‘requires improvement’ and that there had been breaches of regulations.

It added: “At this inspection we found improvements had not been made and the provider remained in breach of regulations.”

The CQC said the latest inspection had been prompted, in part, by information about an incident involving a care home service user who had died.

The commission said the incident remains subject to further investigation by CQC as to whether regulatory action should be taken and therefore the most recent inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident.

Information shared with CQC about the incident, however, indicated potential concerns about safeguarding and the inspection did examine those risks.

The CQC report said: “We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only.

“The overall rating for the service has remained requires improvement, based on the findings at this inspection.”

Inspectors said they found evidence the provider needs to make improvements – having found breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance.

The CQC said it would meet with the provider following publication of this latest report to discuss how the home will make changes to improve its rating “to at least good”.

The report said the CQC would work with the local authority to monitor progress and it added: “We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.”

The manager at the home said she did not wish to comment on the report.