High turnover of staff and low morale cited as inspectors say Anya Court Care Home in Rugby requires improvement

The Care Quality Commission has given Rugby's Anya Court Care Home a rating of 'Requires Improvement' in a report published earlier this month, February.

When the home was first inspected in 2015 it received a 'Good' rating, and a subsequent inspection in 2017 saw it retain that rating.

But in this latest inspection, conducted on November 27 last year, saw the home fall slip into the rating below 'Good'.

For the categories 'Safe', 'Caring and 'Responsive' the home received a 'Good' rating.

But its 'Requires Improvement' rating for the categories 'Effective' and 'Well-led' saw it given an overall rating of 'Requires Improvement'.

One of the CQC's chief concerns was what they described as 'inconsistent management' impacting the quality of care received.

The report states: "Staff described low morale with an inconsistent staff team because of a high turnover of staff.

"One relative explained how this impacted on their family member.

"They told us, 'People with dementia need consistency in order that they may be understood as individuals and be able to build supportive relationships with familiar people.'

"One relative commented that the inconsistency of managers meant they did not have confidence in the stability of the current management team.

"Another commented, 'The problems faced by Anya Court over the last five years is due principally to the failure of top management to provide competent local leadership.

"No explanation has ever been offered to residents or relatives for previous mistakes."

When a spokesperson for the care was asked if they would like to respond to the public with an explanation they did not directly address the question.

But a statement was sent to this newspaper: “We take feedback from the CQC very seriously.

"We were pleased the CQC report found that people at Anya Court Care Home received kind, responsive, person-centred care and felt safe at the home.

"The report also found that Anya Court worked to promote people’s dignity and prevent social isolation.

“Since the inspection in November, we have worked hard to put in place a comprehensive plan to address the comments noted in the report.

“We remain dedicated to delivering the highest quality care for all residents and we look forward to demonstrating improvement when the home is next inspected in the near future.”

At the time of the inspection the Dunchurch Road care home, run by Hallmark Care Homes, was home to 61 people.

As of 2017, Hallmark Care Homes was operating 20 care homes across England and Wales, although that number appears to now be 19.Just months before the CQC inspection, Anya Court won a ‘Customer Care Award’ at 2019's Pride of Rugby Awards.

Visit www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-1726017467 to see the report in full.