Oswestry care home out of special measures after 'improvements' found by CQC
Improvements have been found at a Shropshire care home that was put into special measures earlier this year.
A care home for the elderly in Oswestry has been taken out of special measures after an inspection from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found "improvements".
High Lea House on Llanforda Rise was placed into special measures by the CQC in January this year.
Care homes in special measures are kept under close review by the healthcare watchdog in order to keep the people already living there safe while improvements are made.
The home, run by Miss Y Wakefield, provides care for adults over the age of 65 and had been rated as 'good' by the CQC in 2021.
But when inspectors visited in December 2024, they found the quality of the service had "deteriorated" and that the home "failed to provide care and treatment that met expected standards".
Among the failures, the CQC found that residents at the home were not kept safe from the risks of burns and scalds from hot water taps and uncovered pipework, and that staff had failed to investigate the causes of several falls by one resident.
A follow-up visit has now found that some improvements have been made and the care home has been removed from special measures.
The latest report from the CQC said: "The home was in special measures due to the inadequate rating at the last inspection.
"At the last inspection, we found four breaches of legislation relating to safe care and treatment, consent to care, person-centered care and governance of the service.
"During this inspection, we found improvements which meant they were no longer in breach in relation to safe care and treatment, consent to care and person-centered care.
"Not enough improvements had been made to the governance of the service and they remained in breach of this regulation at this inspection.
"This service has been in special measures since January 8, 2025. The provider demonstrated improvements have been made.
"The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in special measures."
In the latest report, published on August 21, the care home as been rated as "requires improvement" in the categories, 'safe', 'effective', 'caring' and 'well-led', and rated "good" in the 'responsive' category.
The full report can be read online on the CQC website.
