It has been revealed that the decision to close Blackwater Mill Care Home at the end of this month was made after yet another failed inspection carried out by the Care Quality Commission.
Last month, Island Echo revealed that the troubled care home on the outskirts of Newport was to close its doors due to ‘ongoing financial pressures’ and challenges arising from recent appalling regulatory inspections.
It was in March 2024 that the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out an inspection of the home, run by Blackwater Mill Limited, which led to action to protect residents by removing the home’s registration. Blackwater Mill Limited – part of Buckland Care – appealed the decision.
Now, the CQC has revealed that it carried out a fresh inspection back in January of this year, as part of the appeal process, which found further serious concerns. Just weeks before, on 20th December 2024, the regulator restricted admissions and re-admissions to Blackwater Mill.
At this inspection, CQC officials found the home had failed to address 9 breaches of the legal regulations identified at the previous inspection and found a further breach of regulation relating to the duty of candour.
The home’s overall rating, and the areas of safe and well-led, were again rated as inadequate. Effective and caring were re-rated as requires improvement. The area of responsive was not part of this inspection and retains its previous rating of good.
As a result of the January inspection, Blackwater Mill Limited informed the CQC they had decided to withdraw the appeal and confirmed they would be closing the home on 29th March 2025.
People living at the home are in the process of being relocated to alternative homes. CQC is continuing to monitor people living at the home to ensure they are safe while this happens.
It’s said that the home will soon be taken over by a new provider with a new management team in place, with a full refurbishment of the property expected to be carried out ahead of a reopening later in 2025.
Neil Cox, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, says:
“When we inspected Blackwater Mill Residential Home, we were concerned to find poor leadership meant issues identified at previous inspections still hadn’t been addressed. As a result, people’s care fell well below the standard they have a right to expect and they continued to be at risk of harm.
“We weren’t assured people’s basic care needs were being met. There wasn’t enough staff to meet people’s needs and staff didn’t always provide safe care. We found leaders hadn’t acted when people were losing weight and staff didn’t support them to eat or drink. Staff had given people food they couldn’t eat safely. In addition, staff didn’t always ensure people had access to call bells to request help, they didn’t support people to use the toilet when they could, and didn’t ensure people had the safety equipment they needed.
“In addition, leaders still didn’t have an effective system in place to monitor incidents or ensure people were protected from abuse. They hadn’t reported or investigated multiple occasions where suspected sexual abuse had occurred. They also hadn’t taken appropriate action or learned from multiple incidents where people had fallen or had experienced choking at the home to prevent further harm.
“We continued to find leaders didn’t support staff with the right guidance and training to enable them to provide safe care. People’s care plans weren’t always accurate or updated when their needs changed. Staff also lacked training in the medical conditions of the people they cared for.
“It’s always a last resort for CQC to take action which may result in a service that people call home closing, as we understand the distress and upset this can cause. However, people should receive safe, effective and high-quality care that meets their needs.
“Where that isn’t happening, we take action to support services to improve, and if they aren’t able to, take further action such as cancelling their registration to keep people safe, which is what we did at Blackwater Mill Residential Home.”
During January’s inspection, the CQC found:
- People’s health needs and possible deterioration were not identified and acted upon by staff or leaders
- People were not always at the centre of their care and treatment options, and were not always involved in the decision-making process
- Medicines were not being managed safely, and people did not always receive medicines as prescribed
- People were not always supported to take part in activities that were meaningful to them and some people experienced long periods of isolation
- Duty of candour had not always been completed in line with guidance
- People and their loved ones gave mixed feedback about the care provided and some noted there was not enough staff and shared concerns about how the home had managed issues
- The need for people’s consent wasn’t consistently applied
- Environmental safety concerns had not been addressed. Fire doors continued to be unsafe, and legionella infection risks were overdue
- Leaders did not always carry out recruitment checks, which put people at risk of being cared for by staff who weren’t suitable to carry out their roles
UPDATE – In a statement, a spokesperson for Blackwater Mill has said:
“We acknowledge the findings of the recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection and recognise the concerns raised regarding Blackwater Mill Residential Home.
“The well-being of our residents has always been our highest priority, and we have worked closely with the local authority and CQC to address key areas, including staffing, training, and care planning. While significant efforts have been made, after careful consideration, we made the difficult decision to withdraw our appeal and proceed with the planned closure of the home.
“Our focus throughout this process has been ensuring a smooth and supportive transition for residents, working alongside families, local authorities, and health professionals to help each individual find a new home that best meets their needs. We are pleased that suitable alternative placements have been secured, ensuring continuity of care for all residents.
“We also want to extend our sincere appreciation to our dedicated staff for their commitment and compassion. Many team members have already secured new roles within the care sector, and we continue to support those still seeking employment.
“We understand that this has been a challenging time for residents, families, and staff, and we remain committed to providing ongoing support to ensure a positive transition for all”.
Who are these “leaders”, are they going to be prosecuted? No, they will re apear as managers when the home re opens in the future.
The owner / manager should face prosecution and stiff sentence and be banned from working in the “care” sector for life.
But no, after overseeing the suffering for residents that you wouldn’t put an animal through, they just get away with a statement full of insincere rubbish and no doubt onto the next care home in a very short period.
So many filth holes on the island.
Whether it’s a care home or a restaurant
Pure filth.
It’s the quality of the staff available on the island,
sorry to say, but you only have to look at them
full of Tatts, vaping and smoking, not to mention
boozing Numpty’s and druggies.
Bring over some decent clientele from overseas to
do the jobs the British can’t do effectively and
hygienely.
Where do we export our unemployables too?
Go back to Rishi’s idea might be an option, we’ve already paid for it,