Care home in South Shields told it must improve after visit from inspectors

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) took part in an unannounced check of Seahaven Care Home, on Beach Road, South Shields, over two days last October.

They found that the residential care home, which provides personal care for up to 28 people, ‘requires improvement’ in the safety, effectiveness and leadership of its service, as well as the care it provides.

A section of the report compiled by the CQC said: “Some areas of the service looked worn and needed renovating.

“In the smoking lounge on the ground floor the carpet was dirty, had several cigarette burns and was a trip hazard due to being uneven.

“People did not always receive the dedicated support they needed. The meal time experience was inconsistent.

“People’s independence was not always promoted and some staff were task-focused.

“Most people gave us positive feedback about their care and told us most staff were kind and caring.”

The report did rate the care home as ‘good’ in terms of the responsiveness of its service.

It added: “Care plans were well written and specific to the needs of the individual.

“Staff responded to and acted on changes in people’s needs promptly.

“The provider’s quality monitoring processes had led to some improvements since the last inspection, but there were still areas for improvement in monitoring health and safety and people’s meal time experience.”

At the time of the inspection, 17 people were living at Seahaven, some of whom had dementia.

The care home had previously been visited by the CQC in March 2016, when a warning had been issued.

The latest report added: “We last inspected the home on 30 and 31 March 2016 and found the provider had breached the regulations for safe care and treatment, good governance and recruitment.

“Following the inspection we issued a warning notice to the provider.”

No spokesperson for the care home was available for comment when contacted by the Gazette.