Care home set to close after damning report
COUNCIL bosses have stepped in to move residents from a north Manchester care home after a watchdog found a string of failings.
View Park Care Home, in Moston, is expected to close after Manchester council terminated its contract with the provider.
Its 12 residents are in the process of being rehomed.
The authority had already suspended the home from taking on new residents in September following concerns about the service.
Care staff employed by the council have been put in place to ensure sufficient staffing.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated the service ‘inadequate’ and it remains in special measures.
Bosses say the closure has nothing to do with the latest CQC report. But they say the council action has caused huge upset for staff, residents and their families.
CQC inspectors discovered a number of failings when they visited the home in May
The watchdog, which oversees care homes, rated the home as ‘inadequate’ and told bosses it requires improvement in areas of service, caring and responsiveness. Safety and leadership were found to be inadequate.
May’s inspection came just four months after the home was first placed in special measures due to ‘multiple breaches of the regulations’.
When inspectors returned in May they found there were still ongoing breaches relating to staff training, person-centred care and good governance, as well as multiple ADVERTISING FEATURE breaches in relation to safe care and treatment. They also found a new breach in relation to treating people with dignity and respect.
Nobody was in post as a registered manager and the current manager told inspectors they did not intend to register or stay long term. They did not feel they were provided with enough support or resources to enable them to make the improvements required, the report states.
Inspectors found improvements to safety had been made, but there were still problems. For example a bath chair was found to be unsafe and water outlets could have scalded people.
There were continued concerns about the management of medicines with some people running out of pain relief, and staff didn’t have sufficient knowledge about how people’s medicines should be given.
Inspectors said good standards of cleanliness were not maintained in some areas of the home with faulty hand sanitiser dispensers and urine found on a seat protector which was left in a communal area for several hours.
The manager told inspectors they had found it hard to recruit staff with the required skills for the job, and the home was using agency staff to cover any shortfalls on the rota.
No progress had been made since the previous inspections in relation to providing staff with training in end-of-life care.
However, inspectors said permanent staff knew residents well, were kind and caring and showed consideration for people’s wellbeing. They were attentive and had time to spend with people, they added.
A spokesperson for the CQC said: “Inspectors are taking enforcement action in line with the special measures programme and will report on it when it is completed.
“CQC continue to work closely with its partner agencies to ensure people are safely cared for. Any action CQC takes is subject to appeal by the registered provider.”
Coun Bev Craig, Manchester council’s executive member for adults, health and wellbeing, said: “We’ve been working with families during the last few weeks to help them find alternative homes for their relatives as their wellbeing is our priority. Most have found new homes with the remaining five residents due to leave soon. It is anticipated the home will close.”
View Park Care Home declined to comment.