Bourne End Chilterns Manor care home gets new QCQ rating

Chilterns Manor on Northern Heights in Bourne End, which provides care home accommodation and personal care for up to 22 people, was inspected in August by the health and social care watchdog Care Quality Commission.

The care home received the lowest available rating of “inadequate” overall after the inspectors were not satisfied that the service was ‘safe’ or ‘well-led’ - a drop from its previous 'good' rating in 2018. 

Level of caring and responsiveness were rated ‘good’, while its effectiveness ‘requires improvement.’

The CQC said: “People did not receive safe care.

“We found staff did not consistently follow good hygiene practices.

People were not “safeguarded from the risk of abuse,” CQC found.

For example, staff were unaware of the need to investigate unexplained bruising, and head injuries sustained from physical altercations between people hadn’t been referred to the local authority.

At lunchtime, the inspectors saw how a lid from a food trolley was placed on the lounge carpet, which “risked spreading infection.”

Chilterns Manor care home in Bourne End (Image: Google Street View)

Medicines were not “always managed properly or safely,” including records showing antipsychotic medicine, which had gone missing from the home but it had not been reported to the police, the report said.

CQC said: “We found a fire exit route was obstructed by a table and chairs in the dining room.

“No fire drills had been carried out for them to rehearse what to do in the event of a fire.”

The premises were not “well maintained”, and “feedback about the home from relatives was negative,” the report found.

A relative commented: "My first impressions were horrendous, the room was not fit for purpose.”

Another relative had “a number of concerns,” including dirty nails, hair and a “very few clothes.”

They didn’t raised the issues with the home because of concerns their relative “was in danger.”

Another relative said: “The service is terrible, the care is terrible.”

The QCQ found people’s care “had deteriorated significantly from the previous inspection.”

The report said: “People had concerns about the quality of care."

In some instances, families told the inspectos they were considering moving their loved-ones to another care home.

A spokesperson for Chilterns Manor Care Home commented: “Unfortunately there have been failures made by the previous Management team and this has already been addressed in the Spring when a new Management Team were employed.

“We are working with the CQC and the local authority to improve the service rating whilst maintaining the privacy and dignity of those that we provide the service to."