Changes made at home where staff ‘could not give residents the care they need’
WORKER MADE CONFESSION TO INSPECTOR, BUT IMPROVEMENTS FOLLOWED ‘INADEQUATE’ RATING
A DERBYSHIRE care home has been criticised by the regulatory watchdog for its standards.
Residents at Woodville Residential Care Home, in Swadlincote, were given “inconsistent doses” of their medications, according to a newly-released Care Quality Commission report.
Meanwhile, people working at the care home had expressed misgivings about the impact of insufficient staff levels.
The CQC rated the Burton Road elderly care home “inadequate” after inspectors visited on June 7.
Operator PrimeLife says the CQC returned at the start of August and commented “significant improvements” had already been made.
However, during the June inspection, a care home worker told inspectors they could “not give people the care they need” due to insufficient staffing.
The report reads: “There was insufficient staff to support people’s needs. We observed some people had to wait for their care and this impacted on their dignity. Staff we spoke with felt there were not enough staff. One staff member said, ‘I am not happy with the level of care and feel under pressure. I cannot give people the care they need.’
“Another staff member told us they had other tasks to complete that further impacted on their ability to meet people’s needs in a safe and timely way. This staff member said, ‘we have jobs not care-related, like making the tea or additional cleaning.’
“The registered manager completed a dependency tool to reflect the staff required against the level of people’s needs. However, this had not been reviewed since April 2021.
“During this time the home had three new admissions and some people’s needs had increased due to a deterioration in their health.
“The provider told us that the registered manager could request additional staff if there was a greater need due to events at the home.
“On the day of the inspection, one person was having a celebration party requiring additional staff support. The home was also having two new admissions and another person required staff support for a planned hospital appointment.
“No additional staff were requested, which meant the staff had to encompass these additional tasks and this had an impact on people receiving timely care.”
The inspector also said “risks to people were not always managed” and, although risk assessments had been completed, “some risks had not been mitigated”.
Their report said they “could not be assured all (safeguarding concerns) were being recorded”.
It read: “Medicines were not always managed to ensure people received their prescribed medicines. This meant people were at risk of not receiving medicines for pain, or any deteriorating health conditions.
“When people’s medicine had changed due to their deteriorating health condition, this (was not) clearly communicated with staff. This meant some people received inconsistent doses of medicine.
“Infection prevention and control was not consistently implemented to reduce the risk of infections. Staff did not always wear a face covering (mask) in line with the government guidelines.
“We saw staff touching their mask and not replacing it or wearing their mask below their chin during aspects of care. When people were admitted to the service, there was no clear signage to reflect the person was isolating or when that period had ended.”
The home was rated “inadequate” in the CQC’s “safe” and “well-led” categories; and “good” in the “effective”, “caring” and “responsive” categories.
After the inspection, additional staff and management were brought in via PrimeLife’s “robust recruitment process”.
PrimeLife had also taken action to ensure government infection control guidance was in place, including regular Covid testing.
And despite the CQC’s criticism, the watchdog noted staff “responded to people in a friendly manner”.
A PrimeLife spokesperson said: “PrimeLife were extremely disappointed with the outcome of the recent CQC inspection, which rated two areas of the home as Inadequate.
“We have accepted CQC’s findings and have put robust, effective measures in place to remedy the issues identified at the inspection and would like to thank all of the dedicated staff who have embraced the recent changes implemented.
“This hard work has brought immediate benefit and we were pleased the CQC returned on August 3 to complete a follow-up inspection, confirming significant improvements had been made.
“Thanks to everyone’s hard work we expect to see the homes rating improve upon receipt of the draft inspection report, due soon.”
One staff member said, ‘I am not happy with the level of care and feel under pressure.’
CQC report