\n \u201cUrgent action\u201d was taken after further concerns were raised to the CQC later last month, but the home\u2019s owner has since told the regulator and council they plan to shut the home down, handing in a 90-day notice.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Howlish Hall Residential Care Home, Bishop Auckland has been voluntarily closed after the CQC found concerns of a serious nature in their latest inspection (Image: STUART BOULTON)\n<\/p>\n
\n Meanwhile the CQC said it is considering further action against home owners Williams and Spenceley Limited.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n The Echo understands most residents were moved out on Friday (August 1). Authorities said they were working together to ensure all residents are found new accommodation.\u00a0\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n The full findings of the CQC inspection, which will detail the nature of the concerns, have not yet been published.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Howlish Hall Residential Care Home, Bishop Auckland has been voluntarily closed after the CQC found concerns of a serious nature in their latest inspection (Image: STUART BOULTON) The care home was contacted for comment but did not respond in time for publication.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\n A spokesperson for the regulator said: \u201cFollowing concerns the \u202fCQC received about Howlish Hall Residential Care Home in Durham, an inspection was undertaken in early July.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cDue to the serious nature of concerns the CQC found during the inspection, we took immediate action to work with the provider and the local authority to make immediate improvements in specific areas to keep people safe. \u202f\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe CQC has since continued to receive additional information of concern, and took urgent action in the form of imposing conditions, to ensure the safety of residents until suitable alternative accommodation could be found. The provider has the right to appeal and further information will be published by the CQC when we are able to do so.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s always a last resort for the CQC to take action which may result in a service people call home closing, as we understand the distress and upset this can cause. However, people using services should receive safe, effective and high-quality care that meets their needs. Where that isn\u2019t happening, we take action to support services to improve, and if they aren\u2019t able to, take further action such as cancelling their registration to keep people safe.\u202f\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe CQC is also looking into whether there is any further regulatory action that may need to be taken against the provider of this home, Williams and Spenceley Limited.\u201d\u202f\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Howlish Hall Residential Care Home, Bishop Auckland has been voluntarily closed after the CQC found concerns of a serious nature in their latest inspection (Image: STUART BOULTON)\n<\/p>\n
\n Last month Coroner Rebecca Sutton raised concerns after resident Patricia Heaviside died on Boxing Day 2024, after fracturing her hip in a fall at the home on October 4. An inquest ruled the 85-year-old died as a consequence of the fall.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n It was told staff failed to act on advice dating back to August 2023 to place a sensor mat by Patricia\u2019s bed and fit her with hip protectors, as she was prone to falls. The home also failed to tell Patricia\u2019s family they could buy the protectors themselves, and the deputy manager told her family the owner “probably wouldn\u2019t want to pay for a sensor mat.”\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Writing in a ‘prevention of future deaths’ report the County Durham and Darlington Assistant Coroner said: “In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken.”\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n Neil Jarvis from Durham County Council added: \u201cWe are aware of concerns relating to the delivery of care at Howlish Hall Residential Care Home and had been working with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to put measures in place.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cHowever, we subsequently received a formal notice from the owner stating their decision to close the care home. Our staff have since been on site working with the home, CQC, and families to move residents to suitable new accommodation.\u00a0\n <\/p>\n
\n “We will continue to provide support as residents settle into their new environments.\u201d\u00a0\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cUrgent action\u201d was taken after further concerns were raised to the CQC later last month, but the home\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":316519,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4316],"tags":[105,4348,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-316518","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-healthcare","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114969206091949802","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=316518"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/316518\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/316519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=316518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=316518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=316518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}