Home in special measures after damning report
CARE CENTRE STOPPED FROM TAKING NEW PATIENTS AFTER ‘INADEQUATE’ RATINGS
A CARE home criticised for not meeting its patients’ nutrition and hydration needs has been placed in special measures.
St Mark’s Care Centre in Sale was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in October and has now been stopped from taking on new patients.
It was rated ‘inadequate’ for safety, effectiveness, leadership and responsiveness in the report.
The CQC says the home will be kept under review and inspected again within six months.
St Mark’s, in Delaunays Road, is run by Marantomark and provides nursing care for up to 62 people with dementia, brain injuries and mental-health needs.
At a previous inspection in February investigators found four breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
During the most recent visit it was discovered two of these had not been addressed and there were a further seven breaches.
These included problems with safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment, meeting nutrition and hydration needs plus good governance and staffing.
The CQC imposed a condition that the care home must not admit any new patients and are considering further enforcement options.
Residents were not protected from the risk of choking, according to the report.
“People assessed as having an ‘unsafe swallow’ were given foods that were not in keeping with their assessed needs and could have exposed people to the significant risk of harm,” it states.
“Accidents and incidents had occurred which had not been reported,” it adds.
Residents’ relatives gave inspectors positive feedback regarding permanent staff at the centre, but they did express concerns over the high use of agency staff used.
Use of agency workers was having a detrimental impact on the quality of care, the report said.
Training was also criticised, with staff ‘working without the required competence and skills to fulfil the duties of their role’.
Other areas of concern included the quality and choice of food, and the complaints system.
A spokesman for the St Mark’s Care Centre said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of residents is our top priority and we are committed to providing a high standard of care at all times.
“As this matter is subject to ongoing proceedings with the CQC, we are unable to comment any further at this time.”