Lack of staff blamed for care home failures
A CARER at a Loughborough care home worked a 75-hour week with others putting in 50-hour weeks due to long-term staff shortages.
A report which found failings at the home revealed that five unwitnessed falls happened when not enough carers were on duty.
Staffing issues at Huntingdon Court, owned by Leicestershire County Care Ltd, were raised in the previous two Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections but improvements had not been made when the watchdog visited again in September.
The care home, in Regent Street, was rated inadequate for a second time this year and will therefore remain in special measures.
If improvements are not made within the next six months, it could be at risk of being de-registered.
In August, there were 11 accidents when 23 residents were living at the home. Eight of the incidents were “unwitnessed falls”, the inspectors said.
Five of these took place in the afternoon/evening time when “staffing numbers were below those determined by the provider”, the CQC team observed.
There was “very limited” evidence of action being taken to prevent further accidents and this section of the accident record was left blank, according to the CQC.
Inspectors said: “Staffing numbers were not sufficient to meet people’s needs or keep them safe.
“Staff did not always have time to spend with people to meet their needs and keep them safe.”
They added that rotas showed staffing numbers “frequently fell below those determined by the provider”.
This posed a risk that people could receive unsafe care and support, inspectors said.
The CQC said the inspection was “prompted in part” due to concerns received about care and support given to people living there.
Inspectors assessed whether the home was safe and well-led, but it was found to be neither. “People were not protected from the risk of avoidable harm,” the report said.
“There were a number of unwitnessed falls and opportunities to learn from accidents and incidents were missed.”
It added: “We saw people sitting in the communal lounge without occupation or stimulation for the majority of the day. Many people were asleep.
“These concerns had been identified at our last two inspections in April and November 2019.
“The required improvements to ensure people were safe had not been made.”
The CQC also highlighted issues with meals and infection control with inspectors observing staff use the same hoist slings between people and not cleaning the hoist before use with another person.
“This put people at risk of infections and was of particular concern during Covid-19,” they said.
Leicestershire County Care Ltd was asked to provide a response to the report, but has yet to do so.