South Liverpool care home placed in special measures after 'smeared blood' found in communal area

Care inspectors have placed a Woolton care home in special measures after blood was found smeared in areas of the home.

Officials from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have raised serious concerns about the provision of care at Kingswood Manor and have taken direct action at the home following an inspection in October.

The site, run by Harbour Healthcare, provides accommodation and nursing and personal care for up to 44 people, most of whom are living with dementia. Inspectors said they had issues around leadership and the deterioration of standards at the location.

Given the performance of the home in last year’s inspection, it will now be kept under further review to ensure resident safety. If the CQC does not propose to cancel the provider’s registration, there will be a re-inspection to check for significant improvements.

Karen Knapton, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said: “When we inspected Kingswood Manor, we found a home where leaders didn’t have a good understanding of the issues it faced which had resulted in a deterioration in the standard of care being provided since our last inspection. We found serious concerns regarding people’s needs not being met that leaders must urgently address to prevent people from being harmed.

“For a service that provided care to people living with dementia, there was little specialist consideration given to their needs. There were no picture aids or signage around the home to help people navigate and not get confused. 

“There also weren’t any meaningful activities available to prevent social isolation and loneliness, and we saw people sat all day in the lounge or alone in their bedrooms.”

Parts of the home were said to be unclear and smelling. Inspectors found some people’s personal items and sink areas were dirty, with one communal shower room containing a wash bowl smeared in what looked like blood.

Ms Knapton said concerns were also raised about management of physical health, including pain relief medication being issued too close together or too far apart, placing residents at risk of overdose or not correctly managed. On one occasion, one resident could be treated as medicine was not available at all.

She added: “In addition, the home was often understaffed, especially at night, which put people at risk of not having their needs met. Immediately after the inspection, we told the provider to submit an urgent and immediate action plan for improvement. Liverpool Council was also informed about our concerns to ensure people were safeguarded from potential harm. 

“We also placed conditions on the provider’s registration with a requirement to immediately improve aspects of people’s care and treatment. We will continue to monitor the service closely to ensure the necessary improvements are made and keep people safe during this time. If improvements are not made by the time we next inspect, we will not hesitate to take further enforcement action.”