Victoria Residential Home has failed to protect people’s safety and welfare says regulator

26 May 2011

The Victoria Residential Care Home, Burnley, Lancashire is not meeting seven essential standards.

A Care Quality Commission inspection on the 14th March 2011 found that the home, Thursby Road, Burnley was not meeting seven of the 16 essential safety requirements.

Providers of care services have a legal responsibility to make sure they are meeting all the essential standards of quality and safety.

The CQC report, which is published today on our website, highlights the regulator’s concerns with seven areas the inspector looked at:

People should get safe and appropriate care that meets their needs and supports their rights

The provision of care does not meet this essential standard of quality and safety. People’s care had not always been planned effectively and some risks had not been identified or assessed.

Food and drink should meet people’s individual dietary needs

The provision of care does not meet this essential standard of quality and safety. People were provided with a choice of varied food in line with their preferences. However, people were not always provided with timely assistance to eat their meals.

People should be cared for in a clean environment and protected from the risk of infection

The provision of care does not meet this essential standard of quality and safety. There were no suitable arrangements in place to achieve and maintain appropriate standards of cleanliness and hygiene, as a consequence people experienced care in an unhygienic and unclean environment.

People should be given the medicines they need when they need them, and in a safe way

The provision of care does not meet this essential standard of quality and safety. The service does not fully protect people against the risks associated with the unsafe use and management of medication by means of the making of the appropriate arrangements for the recording, handling, administration and use of medicines.

People should be cared for in safe and accessible surroundings that support their health and welfare

The provision of care does not meet this essential standard of quality and safety. General repairs and maintenance of the premises were not undertaken in a way in which people’s dignity and safety was maintained.  Where work was being undertaken there were not adequate signs to direct people to other facilities and away from hazards.

People should be safe from harm from unsafe or unsuitable equipment

The provision of care does not meet this essential standard of quality and safety. People were not provided with suitable equipment to meet their needs. This meant the staff had to use inappropriate methods to move one person, which posed a serious risk to health and safety of the person and the staff.

There should be enough members of staff to keep people safe and meet their health and welfare needs

The provision of care does not meet this essential standard of quality and safety. There were less staff on duty, which had an impact on the amount of time staff could spend with people. The lack of a registered manager meant that staff lacked direction to provide safe and effective care.

Sue McMillan, Regional Director for CQC in the North West says, “The care at Victoria Residential Care Home has fallen far short of the standards people have a right to expect. We need to ensure that people living at the home are not at any immediate risk of harm.

“It is clear standards require significant further improvement so we will continue to monitor this service very closely to ensure these improvements are made and sustained.”

Ends

For media enquires, please contact David Fryer on 07901 514220, CQC press office on 0207 448 9401 or out of hours on 07917 232 143.

Notes to editors