Gold Care Homes Ltd Care Home Visits Summary Report

Concerns were raised by the Healthwatch Hertfordshire Quality Improvement Sub-Committee (QISC) about how these homes were being managed and the impact on the quality of life for residents at these homes.

Our reports are public documents and we share them with the commissioners and providers of the service we are visiting. We also share them with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Healthwatch England.

What we found

QISC found the lack of continuity in management at the three care homes over a lengthy period of time to be of particular concern representing an absence of trusted and effective leadership.

Managers in post, interim or otherwise at the time of the visits all described a recent history of staff changes, lack of consistent approach to care and a consequent drop in standards in a number of areas.

Our Authorised Representatives were informed that staffing levels and staff morale had been affected by the frequent changes in senior management. A resident’s relative referred to disaffected staff groups that developed with a change of management.

We made recommendations for improvement.

What changed as a result of our visits

This report was sent to Gold Care Homes in June 2016 with no response received.

Since then, Healthwatch Hertfordshire has shared the report with commissioners at Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) and with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to seek reassurance that the concerns we have identified are being addressed. We have received confirmation from both HCC and CQC and are being kept informed of the comprehensive actions being taken on a regular basis.