Boss slams damning care report
CALEDONIA CHIEF SAYS SANCTIONS HAVE SINCE BEEN LIFTED
A CARE HOME boss has slammed an independent report which found the facility to be lacking enough staff to prevent a series of falls among its elderly residents.
Following an inspection by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW), a series of non-compliance orders were issued for Holyhead’s Caledonia care home, which specialises in dementia patients
Highlighting a “lack of effective leadership and management,” the inspectors also found that between June and December 2016, there had been 29 falls at the 15 capacity home – all but five taking place with no staff to witness them.
But according to its owner, a further inspection since the report’s publication in March has seen all sanctions lifted.
Saying she “strongly refuted” its findings, Ann Bedford is now in the process of lodging a formal complaint against the report’s findings.
The original CSSIW report noted: “There were insufficient staff available to provide people with suppport to generally move around the home, to be assisted with personal care needs, to prepare for bed later in the evening or to provide assistance overnight.”
The report highlighted how staff were “too busy” to take proper breaks, with senior staff also raising concerns over staffing levels, meaning that direct supervision was lacking, while the home offered “inconsistent” levels of care due to a “lack of appropriate guidance and support.”
In another incident, a resident lost 5kg in weight over 10 weeks with no action taken to prevent further weight loss, while another resident with complex medical conditions had suffered five falls, yet no care plans or risk assessments had been put in place.
The report went on to state: “We did not see effective systems in place to audit residents’ falls, injuries and people’s weights. There was no evidence to demonstrate that staff had taken any action to establish the reasons for the falls, or to support persons while moving around the home or to prevent falls occuring.”
But Mrs Bedford, who was recovering from a lung cancer operation at the time of the first inspection, alleged the report was “a tissue of inaccuracies and exaggerations”
“If the original report was true, the home would justifiably be closed. The way this has been dealt with has been lacking in fairness and compassion.
“I’ve been running the Caledonia since 1987 and am very proud we have a well-run home that does a good job in providing the best possible care for our residents. Their welfare is always our first priority.
“I am going to be making a formal complaint to CSSIW about the report and the inspector who was only here for two or three hours.”
She added: “The original report gave the impression that there were concerns about the condition of loads of our residents when actually a complaint had been made in relation to one.
“The alleged five kilogram weight loss was down to us using a stand-on scale which didn’t record his weight properly because he was shaking.
“We have since bought a sit-on scale and been visited by two senior CSSIW staff who between them spent a total of 14 hours, and the message from them was completely different.
“In fact, all I got was total and utter praise. I then received an email from them saying that all the sanctions had been lifted. It has all been extremely upsetting and unnecessary.”
The CSSIW has been approached to respond to Mrs Bedford’s comments.