13 January 2012
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told the owner of The Heathers nursing home at Chipping Sodbury that he must take immediate action to improve standards of care.
In a report which is published this week, CQC inspectors identify a series of concerns found at The Heathers, a nursing home for up to 30 people. CQC has been working closely with South Gloucestershire Council and the NHS to ensure people are not at immediate risk of harm.
Inspectors found that the provider, Mr Hitan A Patel, was failing to meet 11 national standards of quality and safety, covering care and welfare, dignity, consent, cleanliness and infection control, management of medicines, staff training, suitability of equipment, safeguarding arrangements, notifications of incidents, and the monitoring of the quality of service provided. By law, providers of care services must ensure that they are meeting all standards.
Mr Patel has been told that he must provide a report setting out how he will comply with the legal standards.
Inspectors have made a number of unannounced visits to the nursing home since serious concerns were raised in November under local safeguarding procedures.
The Heathers has stopped all new admissions, while South Gloucestershire Council and NHS South Gloucestershire have been reviewing the care of individual people living at the home. CQC has continued to monitor the home to ensure that the people living there are protected. CQC has a range of legal powers it can use to protect people if needed.
The report which has now been published on the CQC website gives further details of the concerns found during the inspection in November.
Respecting and involving people who use services
The provider had not taken steps to ensure that people are supported to make decisions about how they wish to receive care. People's privacy and dignity was not respected.
Consent to care and treatment
Inspectors found that the home did not have systems in place to gain and review appropriate consent from people in relation to the care and treatment provided.
Care and welfare of people who use services
The provider failed to ensure that people are adequately protected from risk, including the risks of unsafe practices by its own staff. The planning and delivery of care did not meet people's individual needs.
Safeguarding people who use services from abuse
The home had not taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent it before it occurs; and did not respond appropriately to allegations of abuse.
Cleanliness and infection control
The provider did not have effective systems to assess, prevent and control or detect infection.
Management of medicines
The home did not fully protect people with appropriate arrangements for the recording, handling, using, safe keeping and safe administration of medicines.
Safety, availability and suitability of equipment
People did not benefit from equipment that is comfortable and meets their needs.
Supporting staff
The provider failed to support staff through a regular system of supervision. People did not receive safe care, treatment and support from staff that are competent to carry out their roles. Staff did not have a learning and development plan in place based on the identified needs of people in their care.
Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision
The provider failed to regularly assess and monitor the quality of the services. People were not receiving safe quality of care, treatment and support, due to ineffective decision-making and poor management of risks to their health and safety.
Notification of other incidents
People could not be confident that important events that have affected their welfare, health and safety are reported to the commission so that action could be taken.
Records
The home had not taken steps to ensure that people's personal records including medical records, were accurate, fit for purpose and held securely.
Ian Biggs, Deputy Director of CQC in the South said: “This report makes distressing reading. Throughout our inspection, we identified areas where equipment was in poor repaire and not fit for purpose, including bath hoists, commodes, raised toilet seats and pressure mattresses.
“There was no evidence to show that people's needs were being monitored and evaluated properly. One person with serious health problems who had been in the home for four weeks had no care plans at all to guide and inform staff about the person's needs and welfare.
“People were not protected against the potential risk of developing pressure sores. Only one nurse had received training in pressure area care management which was eight years ago. We saw one resident who had four serious pressure wounds which were dressed with a product that had no healing properties. At the time of the inspection, staff had not been trained to use necessary medical equipment.
“We have received an immediate undertaking from Mr Patel that he will not admit more people to this nursing home while these improvements are being addressed. We will continue to monitor this service very closely to ensure this happens.
“Our inspectors will inspect again in the near future and if we find that the home is not making progress we won’t hesitate to use our legal powers on behalf of the people who live there.”
Ends
For further information please contact the CQC press office on 0207 448 9401 or out of hours on 07917 232 143.
Notes to editors
About the CQC: Snippet for press releases
About the Care Quality Commission
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England.
We make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and we encourage care services to improve.
We monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and we publish what we find to help people choose care.
Read the reports
Read the reports from our checks on standards at The Heathers Nursing Home.