CQC fines Tyne and Wear care home £4,000 for failure to meet national care standards

6 March 2013

CQC issued the fixed penalty notice to Dav Homes Limited, registered provider of Addison Court, Ryton, Tyne and Wear, which provides accommodation and nursing care for up to 62 people who are elderly and suffer from dementia.

Dav Homes Limited, had been formally told that it was facing legal action after concerns were identified at an unannounced inspections in Summer 2012.

CQC inspectors found that there were problems with the management of people's medications. This meant that it was not possible to determine if the service users had received their medication as prescribed, on the dates recorded.

In respect of the visit, CQC served a warning notice on Dav Homes Limited instructing them to improve or face further action.

The Commission undertook a further inspection on 26 September 2012 to check compliance with the warning notice. They found that the required improvements had not been made.

Inspectors found that medication records for some people were still not accurately maintained. Subsequently CQC issued a penalty notice, which the provider has accepted and paid.

Malcolm Bower-Brown, CQC’s director in the North said:

“It is a provider’s legal duty to ensure that it has appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines in a safe way.

“Earlier this year, we inspected Addison Court and warned the provider that they must make urgent improvements.

“It was a matter of concern that at a later inspection we found residents were still not receiving medication properly.

“The law sets out national standards that everyone who uses services should be able to expect. Providers have a duty to ensure they meet these standards. Our decision to fine this provider sends a clear and public message that failure to meet national standards will not be tolerated."

Ends

For further information please contact the CQC Regional Communications Team, David Fryer 07901 514 220 or Kirstin Hannaford 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 a fixed penalty notice to Dav Homes Limited, for its failure to meet:

• Regulation 13 Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010, Management of medicines.

Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, CQC can serve a penalty notice when a registered person has failed to comply with certain requirements of the Act or regulations, and we consider that swiftly achieving compliance without beginning lengthy and costly proceedings is a realistic alternative to prosecution.

Any fixed penalty paid to CQC under section 86 of the Act must be repaid by CQC to the Secretary of State. The legal requirements and associated fines are set out in our 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.