Fitzwilliam care home taken out of special measures but told to make improvements

Roop Cottage Nursing and Residential Home was given an 'inadequate' rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following a visit last year.

Inspectors said they had ‘serious safeguarding concerns’ for residents at the home on Wakefield Road, Fitzwilliam, Pontefract.

Staff were not regularly tested for Covid-19 and there was no system to check if visitors were safe to enter.

During the inspection they found staff were either not wearing PPE or not wearing it appropriately.

The report also said medicines were not stored correctly and staff did not take proper steps to protect vulnerable residents.

The home has now been given a ‘requires improvement’ rating following a further inspection in August this year.

The latest report report states: “People said they felt safe being supported by care staff.

“Relatives said staff supported their loved ones safely. Staffing levels were supportive, and staff knew the individual risks to people.

“Risk assessments and guidance for staff was clear.

“Infection and prevention control (IPC) processes were in place, although staff touched and adjusted their face masks on occasion.

“The home was clean and well maintained and there were no bad odours.

“There were some stained carpet areas, although a refurbishment plan was in place to address this.”

Roop Cottage provides residential care for up to 35 people in one adapted building, across two floors.

At the time of our inspection there were 20 people using the service.

The report adds: “Staff felt fully supported by the management team to be able to provide care safely.

“Quality assurance systems were in place and there were regular checks carried out.

Inspectors warned that audits still need to be “more robustly updated” and “attention to detail on some records needed addressing.”

The report continues: “At this inspection the rating has changed to requires improvement.

“This meant the service management and leadership had not fully embedded the improvements to systems and processes to ensure the quality of people’s care was sustained.”

The home has been contact for comment.

Owner Zahir Faraz previously said the issues were present before he took over the business and changes were being made.

Mr Faraz, CEO of SNSB Ltd, which runs the home, said residents’ safety and wellbeing was the priority and measures had been taken to address issues raised.

He said improvements had been made around Covid-19 and other issues and they had spent £200,000 on updating the care home.