Horsham care home is told it must improve

Mill River Lodge in Dukes Square, Horsham - which cares for up to 70 elderly and frail people - was rated as ‘requiring improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission.

Commission inspectors made an unannounced visit to the care home - run by Shaw Healthcare - in February and in a report just out said that systems had been introduced to decrease people’s risks but that they were not yet fully embedded.

They said there was a lack of guidance to inform staff of some people’s needs and that audits had not always identified shortfalls that were found at the inspection.

The inspectors said: “Lessons had not always been learned when incidents had occurred” and that sometimes “people had not received safe care and treatment.”

In addition agency staff were not always assessed as competent before they started work at the care home.

The inspectors said: “We found three occasions when agency staff had not ensured people’s needs were met.”

But, they said, there were enough staff to meet people’s needs and a new manager had been appointed who had made “improvements to people’s care and ensuring that risks decreased.”

Shaw Healthcare chief operating officer Mike Smith said: “We are disappointed with the outcome of the Mill River Lodge CQC inspection report and acknowledge that more needs to be achieved.

“We feel it is important to note that many improvements have been made and we are confident that the trajectory of improvement will continue.

“The recently appointed manager has a wealth of experience and is committed to making the improvements required to ensure we deliver on the promise of delivering the type of care you would want for your loved ones.

“We are working closely with West Sussex County Council and CQC to keep them abreast of our plans and we look forward to seeing an improved report as a result of the changes we have made.”

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