Horsham care home told it must improve ... for the third time

Kingsmead Care Centre in Crawley Road, Roffey, has been rated ‘Requires Improvement’ following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.

The care home is run by Sussex Health Care which is currently at the centre of a police investigation following the deaths of 13 people at nine of its homes.

Kingsmead Care Centre provides accommodation and nursing care for people with learning and physical disabilities, acquired brain injury, dementia and other complex needs.

It was inspected by the Care Quality Commission in September and, in a report just out, inspectors said that risks to people at the home were not always assessed and mitigated.

And, they said: “People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives.”

They added: “The provision of activities required further development. Activities were not consistently meaningful or tailored to people’s needs.”

They also said that “accurate documentation was not consistently maintained.”

Kingsmead Care Centre has been rated as ‘requiring improvement’ at each of its past three inspections.

A spokesman for Sussex Health Care - which is also known as SHC Clemsfold Group - said: “Whilst we are disappointed with the overall findings, we are pleased to see the CQC’s latest report recognises the caring environment we provide for our residents, some of which have made Kingsmead their home for 20 years.

“Providing high-quality care for those we look after and support for their relatives is our priority.

“We are pleased the report acknowledges that residents are treated with dignity and respect and it is also heartening to see that relatives speak positively about our staff and view them as kind and caring.

“The report highlights that the senior team continue to develop and enhance the services we provide; something that has been apparent in the improved ratings across a number of other homes in recent months.

“Our co-located care services at Kingsmead have also recently been inspected and we are hopeful that this will continue to demonstrate an improvement in the service we provide.”