Police called to care home after inspectors visit the premises

INSPECTORS visiting a care home for the elderly were so shocked by what they found they called the police.

The unannounced inspection at Pinglenook Residential Home in Barrowupon-Soar was prompted by a worried staff member who blew the whistle after a resident was injured.

When they arrived in June this year, the inspectors found complaints of abuse and neglect from residents as well as untrained staff. In total there were six breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The incident in which a resident was injured is now the subject of a criminal investigation and the report, published last week by the Care Quality Commission, does not go into detail about it.

However, it does describe the home as “unsafe” and “chaotic”, with no manager in place since April at the time of the inspection and only two members of staff on duty, looking after the 15 residents.

The report stated: “Staff reported that when they requested additional staff this had been refused. One member of staff had received no training and others had not received the training they should have to support safe care.”

One of the staff members was only trained as a pharmacist while another had no training at all.

The inspectors told the home’s owners that one member of staff should not work until their criminal records check had been completed but that member of staff was still working the following day.

The report states the residents were “not always safeguarded from abuse” and complaints of abuse were passed on to the local authority.

The report also said residents in the home had “extensive scratches and bruising which was possibly due to poor moving and handling techniques”.

One of the residents had lost 3kg in weight but had not been referred to their doctor.

The building itself also came in for criti- cism. The inspectors said: “The premises were not clean or well-maintained to prevent or control the spread of infection.

“There was no cleaning schedule in place to ensure areas of the rooms such as skirting boards, pull-cords, pipework, radiators and bathroom tiles were clean. They were all dirty and in a state of disrepair.”

One resident’s pillow was stained with dried blood. The home was also criticised for failing to carry out fire alarm tests and also failing to manage medicines properly or give them to residents on time.

In their conclusion the inspectors said: “The provider failed to ensure that people were supported to lead meaningful lives. Staff did not have the time to support people to undertake activities or hobbies which might interest them and give purpose to their lives.

“The provider failed to ensure that people were safeguarded and their rights protected.

“They had not carried out the appropriate checks to minimise the risk of employ- ing unsuitable staff and failed to ensure there were sufficient numbers of qualified staff.”

The overall rating for Pinglenook was ‘inadequate’ and the service is now in special measures, which will mean improvements will be required for the building’s current owners to continue running it.

In response to the report, the home’s new manager, Charlene Limb, said changes had been made since she started in June that had “massively” improved the situation for the home’s residents.

She said: “I can’t comment on what has happened previously but the home is now in a far better place. Since I took other two months ago we have made amazing changes. I’ve worked closely with Leicestershire County Council who have supported the home and it is in a far better place now.

“The staff are very caring and the residents are happy and well looked after.

“The home has moved forward massively since the inspection.”