30 November 2011
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told J Raithatha to take immediate action to improve services at Whitchurch Lodge nursing home in Edgware, Middlesex.
Inspectors found that the provider was failing to meet six of the essential standards of quality and safety covering care and welfare of people, safeguarding people from abuse, cleanliness and infection control, safety and suitability of premises, staffing and monitoring service provision. By law, providers of care services must ensure that they are meeting all the essential standards.
Whitchurch Lodge provides accommodation and personal and/or nursing care to 32 older people. CQC has been working with the London Borough of Harrow to ensure that people living at the service are not at immediate risk of harm.
The report, which is published today by CQC, follows an unannounced routine inspection of the home in October. Among CQC’s concerns are:
- Care and welfare of people: Inspectors found that people living at the home did not always receive care or support that was appropriate to their needs. Care plans did not always assess needs, and where they did they were not always followed. One person at the home told inspectors that their teeth were not routinely cleaned, and a visitor told inspectors that their relative did not regularly receive a bath or shower.
- Safeguarding people from abuse: Inspectors found that the home did not have suitable arrangements in place to ensure that appropriate action was taken to safeguard people when they sustained unexplained injuries.
- Cleanliness and infection control: Inspectors found that some areas of the home were dirty and had an unpleasant odour.
- Safety and suitability of premises: Inspectors found that some items of furniture in the home were worn and needed to be replaced; the arm of a chair came off when it was pulled. Fire precautions in the home were not adequate to demonstrate that people would be protected in the event of an emergency.
- Staffing: Inspectors found that staffing levels in the home were not adequate during the morning to fully ensure that people received safe and appropriate care.
- Monitoring and assessing service provision: Inspectors found that the provider did not have appropriate systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service provided, or to identify, assess and manage the risks relating to the health, welfare and safety of people.
Matthew Trainer, Deputy Director of Operations (London) of CQC, said:
“When our inspectors visited Whitchurch Lodge in October, they found a number of people in the home with unexplained bruising. While we are not suggesting that deliberate abuse is taking place, the home needs to take action to make sure that incidents like this are investigated and recorded appropriately. We have been working closely with the Harrow Safeguarding Adults Team to make sure that nobody in the home is at risk of immediate harm.
“Care plans were incomplete and not always followed, and the standard of personal care that some people received was not adequate. Care was falling far short of the standards that everyone should be able to expect.
“We have told the provider to provide us with an action plan showing how they will comply with the standards. We will continue to monitor Whitchurch Lodge closely and will return to check that improvements have been made. If we find that J Raithatha has not made sufficient progress, we will consider further action.”
Ends
For further information please contact the CQC press office on 0207 448 9239 or out of hours on 07917 232143.
Notes to editors
Read the reports
Read the reports from our checks on standards at Whitchurch Lodge.