Luxury Melton care home criticised by quality inspectors

Diet and fitness guru Rosemary Conley compared The Amwell to a luxury hotel at an official opening ceremony in March last year.

But representatives of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) weren’t so impressed when they toured the Asfordby Road establishment, giving it an overall rating of ‘requires improvement’.

A report found that the service given to the 47 residents – older people and those living with dementia or physical disability - was not always safe, caring, effective, responsive or well-led.

The inspectors reported that elderly people living at the home, which has a gym, a cinema room, a bistro and hairdressing salon, told them they often had to wait for support from staff.

Risks to people were assessed and monitored regularly, the report said, but the information was not always updated if needs changed and staff were not given clear guidance on how to deal with aggressive people.

“Systems were in place to ensure the premises were kept free from infection and hygienic,” the CQC report stated.

“These were not always followed by staff.”

Further critical comments by the inspectors included: “People’s private information was not always kept securely to maintain their confidentiality.

“People felt they did not receive staff support at times they needed this.

“They felt they did not always get to know staff due to changes in the staff team.”

Employees had not been supported adequately to take training courses, the report also found, and both premises and equipment were not fully adapted to meet people’s needs.

The report gave a verdict of ‘requires improvement’ in every area of assessment – safety, effectiveness, care, responsiveness and leadership.

The Amwell was also praised in some aspects, for treating people with dignity and respect, ensuring they usually felt safe and for supporting them to take part in activities and events.

Tracy Heyes, care home manager at The Amwell, which charges residents around £900 a week to live at, said:“We are a new team in a new care home working towards making it a better place to live and work.

“We have agreed with the CQC that there are improvements to be made - some of which have been put in place since the inspection already.

“We are now looking forward to the CQC returning within their time frame, so they can see all the improvements we have made.”

The CQC inspection was made in February and the report has only recently been published.