A CARE home in Middlewich has been told it must improve by the Government’s healthcare watchdog, after an inspection revealed concerns over its safety.

Newton Court Care Home, in St Ann’s Road, has been rated as ‘requires improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission.

The CQC carried out a two-day inspection in September, and has now published its findings.

Although two aspects – the service’s care and responsiveness – were rated as ‘good’, its safety, effectiveness and management were all highlighted at areas which need to be improved.

The main concerns raised in the report relate to the safe management of medicines.

In the report, the inspector writes: “We found shortfalls in the safe management of medicines. We watched some people receiving their morning medicines. Staff gave medicines in a kind and patient way and signed the records after the person had taken their medicine.

“However, the nurse was disturbed several times during this time, which caused delays and increased the risk of mistakes being made. The morning medicines round took more than three hours for one section of the home and records showed that this happened regularly.

“This meant that there was a risk that some pain relieving medicines could not be spaced equally throughout the day. We found that medicines that should be given 30 to 60 minutes before food were given during the morning medicines round that took place after people had eaten. This means the medicine may not be as effective.

“The records about medicines on the nursing unit were not well maintained. We found there were gaps and missing signatures on the medicines administration record charts so it was not possible to tell if medicines had been given properly.

“When the stock and the records were compared, with some medicines we found more medication in the home than was expected. One medicine had been signed as given when it was not needed, the nurse told us she had signed in error and a duplicated record for another medicine had been signed twice. This meant we could not be sure if residents had received their medicines correctly and stock balances were not always recorded, so it was not possible to check.”

The inspection also found that staff did not always respected residents’ wishes.

The inspector added: “During the inspection we heard a person ask a member of staff to support them to get into bed. The member of staff declined and advised the person they would be better off if they remained seated in their chair.

“We reviewed the person's care records which stated that they had the capacity to make their own decisions and would request support from staff with changes to their position when necessary.”

The care home is run by Bupa Care Services and the company’s regional director, Gill Bruton, said she is confident the home is ‘back to its high standards’.

Ms Bruton said: “I’m disappointed by this report. Since the inspection in September, we’ve made improvements to address the points raised – including a focus on medicines and record keeping.

“I was pleased to see Newton Court noted for its caring staff and welcoming environment, with positive feedback from residents and relatives. Combined with the improvements we’ve made, I’m confident that the home is back to its high standards.”