Wigan care home improves but concerns remain

Alexandra Court, in Pemberton, has made improvements since its last Care Quality Commission inspection, but officials have flagged up concerns.

Following a recent visit, CQC officers found care home staff had not consistently filled in medication or dietary charts, putting the institute in breach of Regulation 17 for “good governance”.

Despite its overall rating, the home received four out of five “good” ratings for the “safe, efficient, responsive and caring” categories.

When asked if the service is “well-led”, inspectors wrote: “At our last inspection (published in May 2018) we rated this question as requires improvement. This was because we identified concerns in relation to record keeping, such as gaps in the signing for topical cream application, nutrition, hydration and turning charts for pressure relief not being consistently completed.

“At this inspection we found some improvements had been made. However, gaps in medicines records remained, and other concerns in relation to record keeping were identified, and this continues to be rated as requires improvement.”

The inspectors found there was no call bell audit, so staff did not know how long it took them to respond to a resident’s call.

In contrast to these concerns, inspectors praised staff for their “caring” and “responsive” attitude.

Inspectors wrote: “People told us staff were kind, courteous and sensitive.”