A residential care home in Biddulph has been rated 'requires improvement' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after it was found to have breached regulations.

Following its most recent inspection, Tall Oaks Care Home was given the same overall rating it received in 2019.

While the previous inspection found it to be 'good' under the headings of 'effective', 'caring' and 'responsive', the most recent inspection focussed on the areas of 'safe', 'effective' and 'well-led' and rated it as 'requires improvement' in each of these.

The inspection was arranged after concerns were raised that people were not receiving adequate care and support.

The CQC found that some aspects of the service were not always safe and that there was limited assurance regarding safety.

They said there was an increased risk people could be harmed compared to their findings in 2019.

Inspectors found that one resident did not receive the required observation during mealtimes, and was therefore at risk of choking.

The inspectors also found that care plans identifying people as high risk were not being followed.

Their report said people's weights or nutritional requirements were not always recorded, as required by their care plan, and systems in place to identify when things went wrong were not effective.

It said: "We found no evidence that people had been harmed however, systems were either not in place or robust enough to demonstrate safety was effectively managed.

"This placed people at risk of harm."

This failure, it said, constitutes a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

The CQC did, however, find an improvement when it came to proper and safe management of medicine since its previous inspection – and the provider was found to no longer be in breach of regulations regarding safe medicine management.

While there were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people's needs, not all staff at the home had undergone the necessary training, which the report says also put people at risk.

Looking at the key question of 'effective' inspectors found the situation had deteriorated from 'good to 'requires improvement'.

This meant the effectiveness of people's care, treatment and support did not always achieve good outcomes or was inconsistent.

The report went on to say: "Infection and prevention control practices were in place and in large were effective in reducing the risk of the spread of infection.

"Relatives told us they felt their loved ones were safe and were kept informed of their changing needs by staff who had been safely recruited.

"There was a positive culture in the home and staff felt they were supported."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service was unable to contact a representative from Tall Oaks for comment.