The South Shields care home that requires improvement according to watchdogs

Conifer Lodge in Horsley Hill Square has been rated by the Care Quality Commission as ‘requires improvement’ following an unannounced inspection on September 5.

A report of findings, published on October 30, highlighted how the home needs to improve in the areas of safety, responsiveness and leadership.

But the home, which is run by Voyage Care, was found to be good in the areas of care and effectiveness.

The report highlighted how steps must be taken to carry out a more regular review of risk assessments, including for people at risk of self-harm.

Mealtime arrangements also needed to be reviewed to conform with food safety guidelines, after inspectors found that food was prepared and left on a hot trolley from 4pm and was not served until after 5pm.

The report said: “A lunch time meal was reheated over two hours after the meal had been served and this did not conform with current food safety guidelines.”

The inspection also found that people's needs were not always met.

Information was not available for all people about how residents wished to be care for, nor who was responsible for the arrangements after death of the person.

The report added: "We observed although staff spent time talking with people, there were no activities taking place in the home and some people were sitting asleep or unoccupied.”

But the inspection did find that people went out and spent time in the community every day.

It also said there were arrangements were in place to ensure people were central to the processes of care planning, assessment and delivery of care.

It added there was a positive and welcoming atmosphere at the home and that the staff morale and teamwork were good.

However, key areas of improvement were identified with regard to care records, people's involvement, food safety and activities.

On whether the service was well-led, the report said: “This is the first inspection for this service following the change in registered provider.

“This key question has been rated requires improvement.

“This meant the service management and leadership was inconsistent.

“Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care.”

Brian Flynn, Voyage Care’s managing director for the North of England and Scotland said: “We accept the care and support delivered at Conifer Lodge fell below the high standards we expect of ourselves at the time of the CQC inspection.

“We are pro-actively working on the areas for improvement and are committed to ensuring a return to our sector-leading standards of care at Confier Lodge as quickly as possible.

“Our purpose is to provide great care and support, and we take our responsibilities to the people we support and their families extremely seriously.”