Care home placed in special measures amid ‘unsafe’ fears
People were requesting support... we saw there were no staff available in these areas to respond
ABIRMINGHAM care home has been placed in special measures after it was deemed ‘unsafe’ in a report.
A Care Quality Commission report said the visit to Erdington’s Hurstway Care Home was sparked by ‘whistleblowing concerns and safeguarding incidents’.
The report said that one vulnerable resident, who was at risk of choking, was given high-risk food to eat and with no supervision.
Inspectors said they also found that another person had fallen three times this year, but there was ‘no review of the recurring incidents to stop them happening again’.
The care home, located off The Hurstway, is registered to provide nursing and personal care to 42 older people and those with physical disabilities. It is now under new management and changes are said to have been made, with plans to develop the risk assessments and improve infection control. A spokesman for Hurstway Care Home said it was working closely with the Care Quality Commission to ensure the patients were safe.
But during the inspection on July 27 this year, the report said employees claimed they were not able to explain risks they needed to be aware of in order to provide support.
The report said staff also told inspectors “we can’t meet their needs” or “client needs support we can’t give” after recently taking in residents with ‘more challenging’ requirements, it was noted.
Inspectors said in the report that carers were seen to be flouting government guidance on Covid-19, ‘making direct contact with people and failing to wash their hands or wear disposable gloves between supporting each resident’.
The report said that personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect against the spread of the virus was disposed of in open bins in residents’ bedrooms, prompting a need for significant improvements to infection control.
Several staff members had ‘not completed safeguarding courses and had significant gaps in their training’.
Part of the report read: “We observed mid-morning in the three communal lounges that some people were still eating their breakfast, some people had spilt their drinks on the floor and some people were requesting support with their personal care.
“We saw there were no staff available in these areas to respond to people’s care needs.”
A number of breaches were identified by the report - including safe care and treatment, safeguarding, staffing, complaints, governance and failure to notify.
The care home, which has dopped from ‘Good’ to ‘Inadequate’, is now under special measures and will be reviewed as the CQC and Birmingham City Council continue to check for significant improvements.
It will be reinspected within six months and if there is no improvement enforcement proceedures will begin.
The inspector added: “The new manager told us that in the few days she has been working at the service, staff were responding well to the changes and improvements being made.
“Since the inspection we have contacted commissioners and additional support has been offered to the service to help drive the improvements needed and this has been well received by the new manager.
“For example, the manager and clinical lead are attending a webinar on infection prevention and control.” Mr Sandeep S Dhami, who runs the care home, said: “We are working closely with the CQC/CCG to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all the patients.
“This has been an unprecedented period of difficulty due to Covid-19 and the issues that this has brought on.”