CQC rates two Swindon nursing homes inadequate and tells two care services to improve

Safety, drugs handling and lack of staff were all highlighted in reports published this week.

At Wemyss Lodge in Stratton the inspectors discovered a resident had waited 11 hours for pain relief after a nurse mistakenly gave it to someone else.

In their report on the 60-bed home they said: “Medicines were not organised and administered in a safe and competent manner and we found errors in the recording of prescribed drugs. Staff who administered medicines did not undertake an annual competency assessment to ensure they remained safe to administer medicines.”

The report continued: “We reviewed the medicine records for 23 people and for 41 separate medicines. We found serious errors and evidence of poor practice in the administration and recording of medicines, in particular with specific prescribed drugs.”

Incidents involving residents were not properly monitored or always reported. On March 14 one happened that should have been reported to the council’s safeguarding team but was not.

Inspectors said people were put at risk of injury because staff used unsafe patient handling techniques and slings to help staff move people had not been properly maintained.

Staff were not adequately supervised, including registered nurses.

“The trainer confirmed that mandatory training had fallen behind and they had recruited an additional trainer to support with this,” said the report.

As a result of the inspection Wemyss Lodge was put into special measures and will have to undergo a second inspection within six months.

When approached by the Advertiser for a response, a spokeswoman for the home said: “We are working closely with the CQC. Thank you for your call.”

At Church View Nursing Home in Stratton, run by Coate Water Care Company, staff told the inspectors they were chronically short-handed.

One worker said: “It’s getting better. They’re trying to recruit, so it is better”

Another told them: “I love it here and I love my job but if we had just one more member of staff on duty, it would make such a difference.”

Call bells were answered promptly, but then residents had to wait for their requests to be fulfilled, whether it was a cup of tea or help to move to a different part of the lounge.

Michelle McKeever, operations manager for the home, said they were pleased the CQC had seen improvement since the last inspection which had rated the home inadequate in all areas.

“We had identified through our own audit processes, matters which required improvement, in order to bring up to the standards expected of all of Coate Water Care homes.

“We welcomed the most recent review by CQC and were pleased that the report acknowledged the great improvements which have been made and continued progress towards completion of the action plan.”

She added: “Everything is moving in the right direction.”

Mears Homecare, was told to improve safety, because not all clients had been properly risk assessed.

“Not all the staff properly understood the basics of the Mental Capacity Act and care records were not always completed.

A spokesman for the firm said: “We took over this contract from another provider who was obviously struggling and Mears has been investing in many ways to improve the service including significantly improving the terms and conditions for care staff.

“These changes do of course take time to bed in but we are very confident that service users will see ongoing improvements in their service, which as the CQC notes, is already recognised as caring and well led.”

The inspectors criticised Carewatch (Swindon) for not identifying risks to clients and care plans that lacked detail or guidance for staff.

Carewatch was approached for a comment.

Poor standards at 60-bed Wemyss Lodge

WEMYSS LODGE was rated inadequate overall.

The 60-bed home in Stratton St Margaret, cares for elderly people who need nursing and personal care. It also caters for those with dementia.

Safety, leadership and the requirement for a caring approach were all judged to be inadequate, following the Care Quality Commission inspection in March, while effectiveness and responsiveness required improvement. 

The handling of medicines, residents being left unsupervised, and a lack of staff supervision and refresher training all came in for criticism. 

Some staff used wrong and potentially risky patient handling techniques.

Some practices were institutionalised and there was lack of consideration for residents, particularly when monitoring food and fluid intake. Fast referrals to health professionals were not made and some residents were at risk of social isolation.

The manager was not confident in her knowledge of new care standards, which are required for registration.

Nursing home staff toll is slated by watchdog

STAFFING levels at Church View nursing home came in for criticism by the Care Quality Commission.

Following the inspection in March the home in Stratton, run by Coate Water Care Company, was rated inadequate overall.

Leadership and safety were both ruled to be inadequate, but the inspection team decided staff had a caring attitude and judged it to be good.

Effectiveness and responsiveness required improvement. 

Not enough staff were available and people had to wait for their requests to be dealt with. Improvements had been made to medicine management since the last inspection, but staff were not consistently following guidance or storing medicines securely. 

There had also been an improvement to record keeping on people’s food and drink intake, but not everyone was supported enough to drink.

Staff were friendly and treated the residents with dignity.

Improvements had been made to reduce the risk of ulcers but continence care was still lacking. Treatment plans had been developed but more work was needed to achieve a consistent standard.

Some improvements had been made in leadership, but not all had been sustained.

Risk assessments were not in place for all clients

SAFETY required improvement at Mears Homecare, CQC inspectors judged.

The service, which is based at Pure Offices in Kembrey Park and provides care for people in their own homes, was criticised for not making sure completed risk assessments were in place for all its clients, some of whom are prone to falls.

And not all staff fully understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act, which ensures decisions about care must be in the best interests of the patient.

Overall the service required improvement, including effectiveness and responsiveness. Care records were not always accurate or complete and not all of them contained information about clients’ likes and dislikes. It meant they could lose out on personalised care.

But leadership was rated as good. Accidents and incidents were recorded, although the service had not always told the CQC about incidents that it should have reported. 

And clients benefitted from caring relationships with staff who were kind and respectful. Their care was discussed with them and their families.

CQC inspection rules Carewatch 'requires improvement' 

CAREWATCH was told it needed to improve safety following an inspection in June.

The CQC gave the home care service, run by Saren Ltd from offices in Fleming Way, an overall ruling that it required improvement.

It said protocols for medicines were not always in place for staff and risk assessments did not contain enough detail to support a client properly.

Care plans did not always have enough detail about clients’ health history, although this was due to be dealt with as part of an action plan.

But the service was effective, staff were appropriately trained and skilled and were regularly supervised by a manager.

People’s privacy and dignity were respected and they were involved in making decisions about the support they received. 

The service, which has clients of all ages, physical disabilities, substance misuse and mental health issues, was mostly well led and people had confidence in the staff who had a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and protected them from unsafe care.

Carers were also polite and respected people’s dignity.