Second inspection reveals big improvement all-round at under-fire care home

Staff at Rother Valley View told the Care Quality Commission during the unannounced visit that “things have definitely improved” and “we are better managed”.

The watchdog said the service was no longer rated inadequate overall or in any of the five key areas, instead changing to requires improvement overall.

The care home, which provides support to adults with a learning disability and autistic people, was inspected in safety and leadership categories and rose from inadequate to requires improvement in both while it moved up from requires improvement to good for effectiveness.

The inspection followed a previous unannounced visit to the residential care home on Worksop Road in June, where inspectors found “people were not safe and were at risk of avoidable harm”, that “staff were not suitably competent or skilled”, and that there was “poor oversight of the service”.

The CQC said: “Lessons were not being learnt from accidents and incidents to ensure service improvement.”

Following the inspection, the watchdog met with Rother Valley View to discuss its concerns, with the operator saying it was committed to improving the service and submitting an action plan.

During the recent two-day October visit, inspectors found staff knew how to raise concerns about safeguarding and systems and processes were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse.

Some records were not always consistently completed but accidents and incidents in relation to behaviours which may challenge others were being monitored and analysed, while staff had received extra training.

One employee said: “Things have definitely improved — we have had more training, we are better managed.

“Before, we were left to our own devices, but the reins have been tightened and it’s much better now.”

The watchdog also found systems had been strengthened to monitor the quality of the service — although noted these needed to be “embedded into practice to ensure consistency”, but noted management were more “visible” and approachable.

One staff member said the registered manager had “introduced better paperwork, good team practice, and gets stuck in and works together with us and has shown a lot more support to us”.  

Three people were using the service at the time of the latest inspection, and the CQC spoke to one relative and 11 employees as well as making general observations.

A spokesperson for operator Cristal Care said the report “shows the significant improvements the organisation and staff team have made at the service”.

They said they had worked closely with commissioners, Rotherham Council and residents’ families who were “confident of the care and support residents receive at the service”.

The spokesperson said they now hoped for another improved rating at their next full inspection.