A WATCHDOG has slammed a York care home for putting residents at risk of harm, in a report published a week before the facility is to close.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors called by Minster Grange Care Home, in Haxby Road, for unannounced visits last year on Friday, November 17, and Tuesday, November 21.

They gave the service the overall rating of inadequate, meaning it was not deemed safe.

The rating follows news that the care home will close on Friday (January 12).  

As The Press reported last month (December), Maria Mallaband Care Group (MMCG), which runs the service, will close the 62-bed home. The building has been sold to a provider of specialist mental healthcare services.

The care group’s chief operating officer, Paul Walsh, said those living in the home and team members would be given the opportunity to relocate to one of MMCG’s nearby homes.

There are five other MMCG group homes within a 20-mile radius, he said.

Residents at risk of avoidable harm, say inspectors

During their latest inspection, which followed Minster Grange being rated requires improvement last June, CQC inspectors raised concern over safety at the home.

They said residents were at risk of avoidable harm.

“Weekly weights were not in place for people at risk of malnutrition and who had been identified as requiring this level of monitoring,” the report states.

Concerns over 'insufficient staffing levels'

Inspectors felt “insufficient staffing levels” impacted the quality of care staff were able to provide.

“We observed people left in wheelchairs for long periods of time,” they wrote.

“Some people did not receive personal care in a timely manner. Staff did not have time to interact with people.”

A staff members told the inspectors that staffing levels were “dangerous”.

“Altercations can happen, people are left in wet pads, and it can be a long time between personal cares,” they said.

Inspectors said medicines were not always managed safely.

“People had missed doses of their medicines as they were not in stock. This placed people at risk of harm,” they wrote.

Despite the concerns raised, inspectors noted that most people they spoke to at the home felt safe.

'lack of clear and positive leadership' 

Problems were also raised with the home’s management.

This was the fifth consecutive inspection where concerns over leadership at Minster Grange were raised by CQC inspectors.

“One staff member told us, ‘Things have not changed since the last inspection, and we have not been told of any sort of action plan,’” the report states.

Inspectors felt there was “a lack of clear and positive leadership”.

They said some staff felt they were not treated fairly while other felt “neglected” and that they were not listened to.

Inspectors described communication from the home’s management as “poor”.

But the inspectors praised staff at the home who were described as “friendly, kind and caring”.

A spokesperson for MMCG said: “We have been working to address the matters raised following the recent CQC inspection to Minster Grange in York and acknowledge the published report, however we had made the decision in December 2023 to close the care service provision in the home.  

“This closure is currently in progress with a final date set for January 12, 2024.” 

The report can be read in full on the CQC’s website.