Warning notice served to High Peak dementia care home for regulation failures
The Care Quality Commission has served a warning notice and graded a High Peak care home as ‘requires improvements’ after safety breaches were found.
Inspectors visited Watford House in New Mills in response to information of concern the CQC received about risks to people using the service.
The report issued by the health care watchdog said: “We identified breaches in regulation in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance.
“The provider failed to ensure the environment, equipment and facilities were adequately maintained and kept clean.
“There were significant shortfalls identified in relation to the overall repair of the home, furniture and fittings, decoration, cleanliness and food hygiene.
“The provider did not act in a timely manner to resolve issues prior to this assessment.”
The inspector said: “Medicines were not always managed effectively and concerns were identified in relation to medicine management.
“Issues related to stock control, missed signatures on medicine administration records, and medicine storage arrangements.
“Staff were not always working in line with the providers' medicine policies.”
Whilst the providers' systems showed staffing levels were adequate to meet peoples needs, during the assessment the inspectors observed people having to wait for pro-longed periods to have their needs met.
The inspector said: “We observed multiple occasions where people had to wait to be supported out of their wheelchair, due to their only being one hoist available. “Although we did observe positive interactions between staff and people, staff did appear rushed at times, therefore interactions were short.
“During our assessment, we observed occasions where people experienced delays in receiving support.
“For example, a person waited more than 15 minutes for assistance to use the toilet. Staff appeared busy and stretched at times, which impacted on the quality of care people received.
“We observed an occasion where one member of staff was supporting three people to eat their meals simultaneously.
“This approach did not always promote a dignified dining experience or enable people to receive individualised support.
“We also found communal lounge areas were not consistently supervised, which meant there was a risk that changes in people's needs, wellbeing or safety may not be identified promptly.” The report notes the provider did not detect and control potential risks in the care environment and they did not make sure that equipment, facilities and technology supported the delivery of safe care.
The provider had failed to ensure the premises were adequately maintained, clean, and suitable for the people living there, the report states.
The inspector said: “Throughout the assessment, we observed significant concerns within the environment, including areas of damp, damaged décor, broken radiator covers, worn furniture, missing ceiling tiles, and cracked walls.
“The condition of the building had the potential to negatively impact people's safety, comfort and wellbeing.
“Walls, doors and bannisters throughout the home were heavily scuffed and chipped, and we observed staff experiencing difficulty when manoeuvring people in wheelchairs through some doors and walkways.”
Environmental hazards had not always been addressed in a ‘timely manner’ and it was noted in one downstairs lounge, a previous leak had resulted in visible signs of ‘damp and possible mould growth’.
The affected ceiling remained stained and had not been repaired or replaced. In addition, some radiators had ‘no covers or had damaged covers, creating a risk of injury to people using the service’.
The CQC report states the registered manager and the staff team had identified a ‘number of environmental concerns and had reported these issues to the provider’.
However, the ‘timely action had not been taken prior to this assessment to address the maintenance and cleanliness concerns identified’.
The inspector said: “Following the assessment, the provider has taken steps to prioritise key areas requiring improvement, and work had commenced to address these issues and improve the safety, quality and overall condition of the environment.”
The Buxton Advertiser contacted Watford House but they declined to comment.