15 March 2014
A nursing home which failed to notify the Care Quality Commission in line with national requirements has been issued with fines totalling £3,750.
CQC has issued two fixed penalty notices – one to the provider, Prime Life Limited, and one to the former manager of Gilby House Nursing Home following their failure to notify the commission within the required timescales about incidents affecting residents at the home.
CQC carried out an unannounced inspection at Gilby House Nursing Home on the 24 October 2013 as part of their scheduled programme of inspections for 2013/14.
Following a review of care records, inspectors identified that there had been a failure to inform CQC in a timely manner about the death of a person living at the home, and of a serious injury incurred by another resident following a fall.
In addition, allegations regarding staff conduct and two incidents that had been reported to the police had not been reported to CQC within the required timescales.
In the light of the failure to meet legally required national standards, CQC has issued fixed penalty notices totalling £3,750.
Malcolm Bower-Brown, CQC’s Regional Director (North) said:
“Every registered provider and manager has a legal duty to ensure that they meet national care standards and to advise CQC of serious incidents and events to enable us to discharge our regulatory responsibilities on behalf of the people who use the service.
“The failures on this occasion to inform CQC of a number of very serious incidents and issues of concern relating to the provision of care, is unacceptable.
“Prime Life Ltd did take prompt action to address our concerns and both fines have now been paid.
For more details of the findings from the inspection in October 2013, read the full report here.
Ends
For further information please contact CQC Regional Communications Officer Kirstin Hannaford on 0191 233 3629.
The CQC press office can be contacted on 0207 448 9401 or out of hours on 07917 232 143
Notes to editors
CQC has issued fixed penalty notices to Prime Life Ltd, for its failure to meet:
- Regulation 16 Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010, Notification of death
- Regulation 18 Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010, Notification of other incidents
CQC has issued fixed penalty notices to the former manager of Gilby House Nursing Home, for her failure to meet:
- Regulation 16 Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010, Notification of death
- Regulation 18 Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010, Notification of other incidents
Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, CQC can serve a penalty notice when a registered person has failed to comply with the Act, and we consider that swiftly achieving compliance without beginning proceedings is a realistic alternative to prosecution.
Any fixed penalty paid to CQC must be repaid by CQC to the Secretary of State. The legal requirements and associated fines are set out in the Enforcement policy below.
CQC has a range of enforcement powers which include restricting the services that a provider can offer, or, in the most serious cases, suspending or cancelling a service. CQC can also issue financial penalty notices and cautions or prosecute the provider for failing to meet essential standards. Any regulatory decision that CQC takes is open to challenge by a registered person through a variety of internal and external appeal processes.
