A Warrington care home placed in special measures after being found inadequate following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) is now under new ownership with significant investment underway.
The inspection of Callands Care Home followed concerns about the management of the service, medication, and people’s nursing care needs with a requirement to improve following four previous inspections.
At the time of the inspection, Callands Care Home provided accommodation, nursing and personal care for up to 120 younger and older adults; some of whom live with dementia or physical disabilities. At the time of the inspection, 109 people were living at the home across four separate units. Issues found at the home, included only one activity coordinator for 109 people, with limited activities available.
Recently released enforcement actions taken against Callands Care Home by the CQC took place because “People were not always supported to make choices about their care and they, or their representative were not always involved in decision-making or reviews. This placed people at risk of harm.”
“The system for assessing risk was not robust, Safeguarding procedures were not effective, and the provider’s quality assurance systems and processes were not effective.
Inspectors also found We found evidence the service did not provide adequate staffing levels to ensure care was carried out in a safe and effective way.
A spokesperson for previous owners HC-One said: “We will always put the best interests of our residents first. In May 2024, Callands Care Home was sold and transferred to Dovehaven. At the time of the transfer, we were working closely with our Local Authority partners, in line with our action plan, to deliver the necessary improvements at the home following the CQC inspection in September 2023. Responsibility for continuing this progress will now sit with the new owners. We wish everyone at Callands care home well for the future.”
A spokesperson for Dovehaven Care Homes said: “We are extremely happy to be the new owners of Callands Care Home and pleased to confirm that enforcement actions previously imposed by CQC when owned by HC One are not transferable to us the new provider. That is usual practice in these situations. The home is now under a new legal entity and returns to being ‘unrated’ in the eyes of CQC.
“The due diligence Dovehaven undertook before purchase has ensured that we were aware of issues of concern and, as a consequence, have already begun investing significantly in the home. The smooth transfer of colleagues to our business and the care and comfort of our residents being our top priorities. We look forward to a bright future for Callands Care Home as we are able to apply our wealth of experience and proven approach to ensure that excellent care and facilities is available to the local Warrington community.
“Dovehaven Care Homes is a family-owned care provider with over 40 years of experience providing care exclusively to communities in the northwest of England. All of homes inspected by CQC are rated ‘Good’. Currently in a period of planned growth, the track record of turning around newly acquired homes to achieve complementary resident and family satisfaction reviews and ‘Good’ CQC ratings is one of which we are rightly proud.”
