A SENIOR Thurrock councillor has warned Thurrock Council that they are “deeply concerned” at the standards in a number of Thurrock care homes.
Cllr Ben Maney had asked him for an update on the latest Care Quality Commission inspection findings on Bluebell Court Care Home in Grays.
The portfolio holder, cllr Tony Fish explained that after concerns had been raised in August, the council “undertook an un-announced visit”.
He said: “The outcome of this visit was shared with the Care Quality Commission prior to their visit on the 22nd and 24th August.
“The home was assessed as failing ten out of 11 outcomes.”
Cllr Fish said that the home and its owners — Executive Care Group — reacted quickly and well, self-imposing a ban on new residents while it resolved the issues.
He added: “The council undertook regular weekly monitoring, unannounced and at varying times of the day, to ensure improvement” and that the owners “ have been proactive in working with the council throughout this process and improvements were seen very quickly”.
Cllr Fish told the meeting that the latest Care Quality Commission inspection, on 2 November, backed up this view. He said: “While they have not yet had the official report, the feedback has been positive.
“The inspectors fed back that they were overall happy with the improvements that were being made and whilst there were still some areas of further improvement that generally they were happy with the outcomes.”
Cllr Fish congratulated the council’s Contract Compliance Team for the way they had reacted and worked with the home, adding that they had carried out a full compliance visit on Thursday 23 November which supported the unofficial CQC response.
He said: “We found them to be compliant with some very small areas of improvement identified.”
He added there was a national spotlight on care homes and that “Thurrock maintains a rigorous contact compliance process and we work very closely with the Care Quality Commission and other partners.
