23 March 2012
Shenstone Hall Nursing Home in Lichfield is not meeting six essential standards.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is taking action to protect the safety and welfare of people living in the Shenstone Hall Nursing Home.
Inspectors have told the care home on Birmingham Road in Shenstone that it must make improvements to comply with the essential standards of quality and safety.
A report published by CQC says that the provider was not meeting six essential standards. Providers of care services have a legal responsibility to make sure they are meeting all essential standards of quality and safety.
Inspectors visited the nursing home unannounced in January to check whether improvements required by a previous inspection had been made. The latest report, published on the CQC website, highlights four main areas of concern.
Care and welfare of people who use services
People said they often waited a long time to be assisted by staff. They mentioned that some residents had been left for over an hour in wet or soiled clothing. These incidents were not logged or referred to the safeguarding team. Staff shortages meant people were not receiving appropriate care at the home.
Safeguarding people who use services from abuse
Residents reported that staff sometimes hurt them when using moving and handling equipment. They had asked for cream to be applied as their skin was thin and prone to injury but this did not always happen. Some care staff were unaware of the home’s safeguarding policy.
Management of medicines
Medication was often administered late and signatures had been omitted from medical records. Access to the medication fridge was not secure and the fridge was not locked as required. Fridge temperatures were too high meaning the medication may have been compromised and was no longer safe to use.
Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision
Inspectors were told that wet and soiled laundry was routinely washed together with people’s clothes. Also, there was a lack of evidence to confirm that residents’ views had been taken into account and the last surveys were completed in June 2011. CQC found no evidence that responses had been considered or dealt with.
During their visit,inspectors also identified minor concerns relating to supporting staff and respecting and involving people who use services.
Andrea Gordon, Deputy Director of Operations (Central Region), said: “The failings at Shenstone Hall Nursing Home are a real concern and improvements need to be made.
“CQC has been working closely with Staffordshire County Council to ensure the safety and wellbeing of people receiving this service.
We have told the provider where it needs to improve and we will continue to monitor this service. If we had immediate concerns about people’s safety, we would take action straight away on behalf of residents.
We have previously made it plain to the provider that this cannot be allowed to continue. We will now consider taking action to protect the interests of the people who depend on this service. While the law does not allow us to go into detail at this stage, we will publish a full report in due course.”
Where improvements are not made CQC has a range of enforcement powers that can be used, including prosecution, closure or restriction of services. Any regulatory decision that CQC takes is open to challenge by a registered person through a variety of internal and external appeal processes.
Ends
For further information please contact Helen Gildersleeve, regional communications officer, on 0191 233 3379. The CQC press office is also available on 0207 448 9401 or out of hours on 07917 232 143.
Notes to editors
Read the reports
Read the reports from our checks on standards at Shenstone Hall Nursing Home.