The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected Thames House between March 24 and April 22 this year and found a number of breaches of regulations.
The three breaches related to safe and effective staffing and governance at the home.
The home, based on Thames Street in Rochdale, was found to have ‘low compliance’ in areas, in an update published this month, that the regulator said were ‘highly relevant’ to safe care.
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Concerns relating to medicines were also identified at the setting and care records required improvement as some were ‘inconsistent’.
After speaking to relatives of those under the home’s care, the CQC said it had been told of one resident who had ‘been admitted to hospital twice with dehydration and severe dehydration’.
They said the relative had raised concerns that people’s food and drink intake was not monitored effectively.
Upon reviewing this person’s care plan, the CQC said the home had completed a review of its practices and improved its compliance with providing and recording fluid intake.
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The inspector stated that feedback had been mixed and that they had also been told by one relative that there were no issues at mealtimes.
Other feedback had included a staff member saying they were ‘amazed’ at the number of staff on shift each day, while a relative said that there was a ‘massive turnover’ of staff and they didn’t believe there was enough staff.
After reviewing rotas, the CQC found that there were adequate numbers of nursing staff and healthcare workers on both day and night shifts, but that the home relied heavily on bank staff and agency staff, especially at weekends.
While the home was rated ‘requires improvement’ overall, the caring and responsive categories were rated as ‘good’.
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The staff gave feedback to the CQC, which reflected that they felt it was a good working environment, with the manager being available even at night for advice.
Staff had access to the provider’s employee assistance programme, which included counselling and debt management advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and posters with details of the programme were displayed on staff notice boards.
The manager told the CQC: “The main priority is to embed excellent care; we have good outcomes for people, but we have had whistleblowing, and it’s up to us to deal with that and recognise it, as this is the resident’s home.
“Our priority is to stabilise the nursing team.
“We are trusted when taking people in care, and family members are involved; it is a collective effort.”
A spokesperson for Thames House care home said: “Our priority is to provide the people we support with the very best care and opportunities to thrive.
“Since the CQC’s inspection in March, we have made significant progress to address the specific areas for improvement that they identified.
“We are clear in our mission to embed sustainable improvements across the home, in line with our comprehensive action plan, and in close collaboration with our Local Authority and NHS partners.
“We have provided refresher training for colleagues, and strengthened our approach to record keeping and communication.
“We know we have a care team who are passionate about the people they support and who are committed to making every day better for them.
“We are grateful for the patience and understanding of the people living in our home and their families whilst we make these improvements, and we look forward to demonstrating these positive changes to the CQC when they next visit.”