Care home residents at ‘ongoing risk of harm’
‘PEOPLE’S CARE HAD POTENTIALLY BEEN NEGLECTFUL’
A DAMNING report into a Beeston care home found its residents were “at risk of ongoing harm”.
Beeston Lodge Nursing Home in Meadow Road was subject to the unannounced inspection on December 11 last year following concerns raised about poor care at the site.
The home, which houses elderly people, including some living with dementia, was housing 26 people at the time of the report. It found that the management team had not notified the CQC of deaths, incidents and injuries they have a statutory responsibility to report.
The home, which closed down soon after the inspection according to Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue, had issues with staffing, infection control, safety and cleanliness according to the CQC.
The report stated: “There was a lack of reporting of incidents and accidents. People had sustained falls, and there had been medicines errors which had not been reported.
This meant that potential abuse and neglect may go unreported.
“We found people’s care had potentially been neglectful as four people had sustained tissue-damage due to poor pressure care. This had not been reported to the local authorities or Care Quality Commission (CQC) as required.
“Care staff had been told not to document concerns, but to report to the nurse in charge. Due to the high level of agency staff, this meant concerns were not passed on effectively.”
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue were called to the home on December 22 last year along with the ambulance service.
The latest report reveals their presence was needed due to immobile patients who were placed in upstairs rooms up a steep staircase.
Inspectors said: “There were people at the service who were nursed in bed and were immobile who were in rooms upstairs. Due to the steep staircase, this meant their evacuation was difficult and required assistance from the Fire Service when they were moved out of the service.”
One person at the home told inspectors they had not received a bath in over a year. Another patient, who was classed as at risk of malnutrition, had lost weight. The report continued: “People were not protected against the risk of dehydration, and there was no evidence that records were monitored to ensure people were eating and drinking sufficiently. There was a lack of drinks and snacks available to people in the home. This put people at risk of harm.”
Another resident had fallen three times and there was no evidence of this being monitored.
Staff were found to not be wearing PPE appropriately or washing their hands enough and residents were not protected against risk of infection, the inspectors found.
The service did not store, administer or dispose of medicines safely and inspectors could not be sure residents were receiving the correct medicines, according to the report.
Staffing levels at the home were also found to be inadequate, while it was also judged to be “not open and transparent” with families.
A Notice of Proposal was issued to the provider by the CQC on December 21 last year. This means it intends to take further action out against Beeston Lodge - which could mean the home shutting down permanently.
A Notice of Decision will soon be issued after the service provider Le Flamboyant Ltd has a chance to appeal the matter and take it to a tribunal. In the meantime, no new residents are allowed to be admitted into the home.
Beeston Lodge Nursing Home has been approached for comment.