A YORK care home has been fined by a watchdog after breaching a regulation over the reporting of incidents.

Milewood Healthcare Ltd paid the £1,250 fine as an alternative to prosecution over the failing at Hawthorn House in The Village, Strensall, said the Care Quality Commission.

It said it issued a fixed penalty notice for failing to report a number of incidents, in breach of one of its registration regulations.

News of the fine emerged in the CQC’s latest inspection report, which said the home continued to ‘require improvement’ - although it also contained praise for its care from residents and relatives.

The report said people at the home, which provided personal care to nine people with a learning disability or mental health needs, were satisfied with the service and told the CQC they were happy living there.

It said: “People described the staff as, ‘nice,’ ‘very good’ and ‘alright.’ Two people spoke warmly about particular staff members they liked. A relative told us, 'I couldn’t wish for better staff. They are all lovely.' A visiting healthcare professional also confirmed the staff were ‘Lovely'."

The report also said staff were respectful and responsive to people’s needs, and residents were encouraged to be as independent as possible and were involved in some aspects of running the home.

However, the report said that while the provider had a safeguarding policy, and usually referred concerns to the local authority safeguarding team as required, referrals had not been made for two incidents.

“The provider and registered manager were aware of the legal requirement to provide information about relevant incidents to the CQC. They had sent this information in the majority of cases, but we found a small number of incidents had not been notified to CQC as required.”

Alison Graham, of Milewood Healthcare, said the inspection was in August of last year and Milewood had paid a fine but was not at any time threatened with legal action.

“The home has now a new manager in place, who is very experienced with our client group,” she said. “We strive to give the best support to our service users and will continue to do so in the future.”