Residents at village care home found to be at risk of burns and food poisoning

Healthcare inspectors visited Waltham Hall Nursing and Residential Home, near Melton Mowbray, in February and their newly-released report said improvements needed to be made in a number of areas.

Care plans and record keeping were not always complete, creating a risk of unsafe care, inspectors from healthcare watchdog the Care Quality Commission, (CQC), also found.

However, they praised the home for its transparency when it came to the improvements needed and its eagerness to ensure they were implemented and sustained.

Waltham Hall has been rated as ‘requires improvement’ for safety, effectiveness and leadership, but remains ‘good’ for caring and responsiveness.

A spokeswoman for the home told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the inspection was triggered by a change in management and staff and that a new registered manager was making the necessary changes.

They said they expected a follow-up visit from the CQC in 12 weeks time to result in the home’s rating returning to ‘good’.

The CQC said in its report that people’s care and support plans were not always complete. Some residents with diabetes did not have enough detail in their plans. Inspectors said these gaps left people at risk of unsafe care or care which did not meet their needs.

Some residents required their food or fluid intake recorded, or had to have checks completed if they had a tube into their stomach providing this nutrition.

These records were not always completed by staff or reviewed at the end of the day, again putting people at risk.

Many of the radiators in the building did not have covers as these had shrunk in the wash and were being replaced.

They were very hot, so people were at risk of burns should they touch or fall against them by accident and no measures had been introduced to minimise the danger.

Some people had fridges or freezers in their rooms containing food which needed to be stored at a certain temperature.

No checks took place to ensure the temperatures of the appliances were within the correct range, the CQC said. This raised the risk of people consuming food which had gone off.

However, family members were overwhelmingly positive about the care their loved ones received and people living in the home said they felt safe.

One relative said: “Absolutely brilliant care. Staff have a good grip on things,” while another added: “Yes, [my family member is] definitely kept safe. No sign of any form of abuse.”

Elsewhere, not all staff files had all the necessary recruitment checks, the CQC also found. Some were missing educational and employment histories. However, the manager said they would review this and gather the information.

Staff had also not received training in some areas, including oral care, diabetes or dementia. Nurses were on hand to help.

The CQC said the gaps “meant staff did not receive the opportunity to learn more about these important areas of care to support people optimally”.

But, inspectors said there was no evidence the training gaps had had an impact on care.

Improvements had also been made by the new manager regarding the reporting and recording of accidents, incidents and falls.

These were not regularly reviewed and analysed, including identifying patterns or themes to reduce the likelihood of them happening again.

Positive feedback was received by the watchdog from two health professionals. Both spoke positively about staff following their recommendations and seeking timely support when any issue was identified, it said.

One professional told inspectors: “Staff really care and know people well. Staff follow through on advice and will ring up with any queries. I can’t think of any improvements needed.”

While the service was reported to be spacious and clean, inspectors said areas were tired and needed updating, giving carpets and paintwork as examples.

They also said putting up signs to help residents with dementia get around would be a good step.

The new registered manager was ‘transparent about the shortfalls in the service’, inspectors said. They added that the manager was ‘working hard with the whole staff team to make and sustain improvements’.

Business manager Faye Handfield said on behalf of the home’s owners: “Waltham Hall Nursing Home has enjoyed an excellent reputation under the ownership of Mr and Mrs Robinson who have run the home for over 30 years.

“The family have personally invested significant sums into the home to enhance the care facilities and provide independent living accommodation at an affordable price.

“This home is one of only a few local nursing homes in the county providing a valuable service to local residents seeking care.

“Here we are able to provide the same service as a hospital but in the comfort of a homely environment, which makes it the perfect choice for residents who wish to spend time with their families."

She added: “The home provides good and responsive care for the nursing and residential patients who live here.

“Following a change of management in 2022 the CQC inspected the home as part of their standard protocol.

“The CQC noted the range of improvements that had been made following the appointment of the new registered manager and were impressed with the caring nature of the staff.

“The inspectors would have preferred to rate the home as good, however a new marking criteria which is based on points saw the home just slip below that threshold.

“They believe the changes that have been made are adequate, but would like the opportunity to see these embed into the culture of care.”