A CARE home was told that it still needed to make improvements after inspectors made a visit.

Grace Court Care Centre, on Prescot Road, was subject to a “focused inspection” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in October last year.

The findings from the visit were published this month, May 2022, in which the facility was rated as requires improvement.

This is the same rating that Grace Court was given during its previous inspection by the CQC in 2020.

The residential care home provided personal and nursing care to 28 people at the time of the inspection in October 2021.

The CQC made the visit after “monitoring systems indicated potential risk at the service” and the focused inspection was made to “review the key questions of safe, effective, responsive and well-led only”.

The home was rated as requires improvement in each of these categories.

Inspectors noted that “systems in place to monitor the quality of the service were not always effective and failed to identify or address the concerns found”.

Also, it was said: “People's medicines were not always managed in the safest way possible or stored appropriately.

“Improvements were needed to the stock control of medicines”.

It was added that “some of the procedures in place in relation to infection prevention and control also needed to improve”.

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The CQC said that at the previous inspection in 2020 “we recommended the provider ensured that updated guidance in relation to preventing and controlling infection was implemented at all times” but that “the provider had not made improvements”.

It was noted: “People's care needs and identified risks were recorded and reviewed on a regular basis” and “people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests”.

It was added: “The policies and systems in the service supported this practice however, further improvements were needed to ensure the service responded appropriately to people's changing needs”.

Inspectors found “the service management and leadership was inconsistent” and that “leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care”.

However, it was found that “procedures were in place to plan the care and support people needed as they approach end of life” and “staff knew what support people needed with communication which helped people to demonstrate their needs and wishes”.

After the previous inspection it had been found systems were not robust enough to ensure staff were safely recruited or deployed but it was “found that improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of this regulation”.

Also, “people's care needs were planned” which “was an improvement from the previous inspection”.

Also, inspectors noted an activities worker had been employed and “was in the process of reviewing the activities available for people”.

When the Star contacted Grace Court, a spokesperson would not comment as the home has undergone another inspection recently.

A CQC spokeswoman said: “We also carried out an inspection last week and the report for that visit will be published in due course”.