17 August 2011
Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors who visited 4 Seafarers Walk Home, located on Hayling Island, found that it was failing to meet eight essential standards of quality and safety.
4 Seafarers Walk residential home is owned by Community Integrated Care (CIC).
CQC inspectors visited the home on 28 June 2011 as a result of concerns raised to us by social services. Inspectors reviewed all the information we held about this provider, observed how people were being cared for, looked at records of people who use the services and talked to staff.
The CQC report has major concerns about eight essential standards.
Respecting and involving people
The service did not have arrangements in place to ensure that residents were treated with the dignity and respect they are entitled to. This meant that, at times, they had received inappropriate care and treatment.
Consent to care and treatment
The lack of knowledge and training for staff means they are unaware of the importance of obtaining people's consent and involving them in decisions about their care and lifestyle choices. People who use the service are at risk of receiving care and treatment for which they have not consented.
Care and welfare of people
The care planning documents do not accurately reflect the needs of people who use the service and do not provide detailed information for staff about how people's needs should be met. This means staff are not always providing appropriate, or any, support to people.
Safeguarding
Staff have not always reported incidents which means that any necessary action to remedy situations will not be implemented. This puts people at risk of not receiving the correct treatment and care. It also means the provider is unable to identify any trends or patterns of incidents which may indicate that people are at risk of abuse. The lack of clear information about extra charges and how staff should support people in spending their money does not ensure they are protected from financial abuse.
Management of medicines
There is lack of effective monitoring and unclear guidelines relating to medicines. This has put people at risk of not receiving the correct medicines.
Staffing
There was not always enough staff to support people with activities and staff did not show the necessary skills to deliver care in a respectful, consistent manner.
Supporting staff
Staff were seen to be supporting people in an inconsistent manner that did not show they were competent in delivering appropriate care. Inspectors saw that staff did not respect people's privacy and dignity, and they showed little awareness of the importance of involving them in decisions about their daily lives. Guidelines and support plans were not always clear and accurate to enable staff to work in a consistent way. There was no evidence that staff's competency had been assessed or that any learning development plans were in place.
Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision
The auditing of medicines was not effective in highlighting missed medicines. We saw records that showed someone did not receive their personal care one evening because a bulb had not been replaced in the bathroom. There was no evidence of any evaluation of the service, for example care plans were not up to date and accurate.
4 Seafarers Walk has submitted an action plan to CQC, outlining how it will address these concerns in order to meet the standards. Inspectors will return to the care home unannounced to check whether the improvements have been made.
CQC Regional Director for the South East, Roxy Boyce, said: “The care at 4 Seafarers Walk has fallen far short of the standards people have a right to expect.
“The law says these are the standards that everyone should be able to expect when they receive care. Providers have a duty to ensure they are compliant – or face the consequences.
“Our inspectors will return to 4 Seafarers Walk very soon, and if we find that the provider is not making the required progress we won’t hesitate to use our legal powers on behalf of the people who live there."
By law, providers of care services have a legal responsibility to make sure they are meeting the essential standards of quality and safety. We will continue to monitor progress and we will check to make sure that the improvements have been made.
Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008, CQC has a number of new enforcement powers that enable it to act swiftly when services are failing people. These include issuing warning notices, restricting the services that a provider can offer or the way it is provided 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.
Ends
For further information please contact the CQC press office on 0207 448 9239 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 report
Read the reports from our checks on standards at 4 Seafarers Walk.