CQC tells two Bristol care homes to improve services

14 March 2011

The Care Quality Commission has told two care homes for people with learning disabilities that they must take action to improve standards of care.

Inspectors who visited St David’s Lodge at Lodge Causeway in Bristol and Hazelhurst in Filton found that the homes were both failing to meet essential standards of quality and safety.

CQC required Clive and Hazel Pryce-Jones, as the registered providers of both homes, to take immediate action to protect residents of St David’s Lodge from the cold. At Hazelhurst, inspectors said they must take immediate action to ensure that there were enough staff. There were concerns over hygiene, the state of the premises and safeguarding arrangements in both homes.

The inspectors visited the homes unannounced in response to concerns which were first raised through local authority procedures to safeguard people.

Since January both homes have been in the hands of administrators appointed by the High Court. CQC has been working closely with them and with Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the residents.

Both homes have now stopped taking new residents and the providers have produced plans to comply with the regulations. The reports, which are published today, highlight a number of concerns.

Hazelhurst at Filton was failing to meet six of the essential standards including:

• Safeguarding people from abuse
  The reports say that suitable safeguarding arrangements were not in place. Training was not effective enough to enable staff to identify and prevent abuse in the first place or to ensure that they respond appropriately when it is suspected. The lack of management and leadership has placed people at risk.
• Cleanliness and infection control
  Inspectors found that many areas of the home were dirty. The home has not had a cleaner for two years, and care staff said they were expected to clean while on duty, although this meant they could not spend time supporting residents.
• Safety and suitability of premises
  Inspectors found a number of problems with the standard of decoration and state of the premises. They said that the environment in some areas of the home showed a lack of respect and dignity for people who use the service.
• Staffing
  There were not enough staff on duty to ensure the health, safety and welfare of people, and staffing levels did not allow residents to make their own choices about their lives.

St David’s Lodge was failing to meet 10 standards including:

• Respecting and involving people
  People living in the home were not always given opportunities to express their views or be involved in decision making.
• Care and welfare of people
  Inspectors said that people were not always receiving the care and support that meets their needs.
• Safeguarding people from abuse
  Inspectors found that the home had not made arrangements to ensure that people were safeguarded against the risk of abuse, and that some people have been subject to unsafe restrictive practice.
• Cleanliness and infection control
  The provider did not maintain appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene or protect residents staff and visitors from risks of infection.
• Safety and suitability of premises
  Inspectors reported that some of the bedrooms were very cold with some windows in a poor state of repair, and inadequate bedding to keep people warm. When portable heaters were brought in, the risks were not properly assessed.
• Safety and suitability of equipment
  Residents were at risk when specialist equipment was not used appropriately. Staff training was out of date, and staff had not always followed correct manual handling procedures.
• Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision
  There were no systems in place that regularly assessed and monitored the quality of the services provided to ensure that people are protected from potential risks.

Bernadette Hanney, acting Regional Director of CQC in the South West, said that inspectors would continue to monitor both homes closely.

She said: “It is a matter of real concern when vulnerable people have to put up with inadequate care or when there aren’t enough staff on duty to guarantee their safety. We have taken immediate action, in conjunction with Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council to address these issues.

“Following our inspections, we received an immediate undertaking from the provider that they would not admit any further residents – and this will at least ensure that people living at the homes are not placed at increased risk of harm while improvements are made.

“But these reports also uncover concerns of a different sort – of institutions where people aren’t allowed to choose what they’d like to do, or eat, or even what they wear.

“There are common themes of corners cut, inadequate staffing, poor cleanliness and hygiene, and inadequate training and this must not be allowed to continue.

“Providers of care services have a legal responsibility to make sure they are meeting all the essential standards of quality and safety. Our inspectors will return to St David’s Lodge and Hazelhurst in the near future and if we find that they are not making progress we will consider further action.”

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