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A care home in Workington has made urgent improvements to the standards of care it delivers to residents after being issued a formal warning from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Branthwaite Nursing Home was reportedly visited by CQC officers in a surprise inspection in August 2012, and again later in the year. Following the visits, the following problems were revealed:

• One instance in which a diabetic patient with mental health problems was not given medication on time, causing the person’s condition to deteriorate to the extent that they had to receive hospital treatment
• Concerns over undernourished and dehydrated patients
• Some furniture was soiled
• Issues with staffing and recruitment

However, upon visiting the home for a third time at the end of 2012, CQC inspectors were pleasantly surprised to find that a number of positive changes had been made. Staff had received extra care training, patients were well-nourished and hydrated, and many seemed “calmer and more alert”. Furniture had been replaced and staffing problems had been addressed.

The only thing the home still has to do, according to the CQC, is to improve the management of records and case files.