Waterloo House

With support from an external consultant, head office personnel and senior staff in the service the new manager had worked hard to address the various concerns identified at our last inspection. Under their leadership, improvements had been made to moving and handling practice; provision of special diets; recruitment checks; safety of premises and equipment and staff training.

However, there was a need for further improvement in a number of areas.

There were continuing shortfalls in the provider's approach to auditing and monitoring the quality and safety of service provision. Some people's care plans and associated documents contained out-of-date or contradictory information.

People's rights under the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were not consistently upheld and systems to prevent the spread of infection were not consistently effective.

The provider had failed to notify us of some significant events. We are currently considering our regulatory response to this issue.

More positively, medicines management remained safe. There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people's needs. Staff knew how to recognise and report any concerns to keep people safe from harm. Staff communicated effectively with a range of external organisations. People received food and drink of their choice.