A patient barricaded themselves in their room at a Croxteth care home condemned by health inspectors for fear of their own safety.
A Care Quality Commission (CQC) report found that a resident at Stonedale Lodge Care Home took it upon themselves to drag a chair to block their room door because they didn’t feel safe. The patient told inspectors: “I don't feel safe, I feel isolated and vulnerable. Anything could happen to you here and no-one would know."
The CQC has delivered a damning verdict into the Stonedale Crescent location and branded the site to be inadequate in its provision of care. During their visit last month, inspectors said they found one person's room had not been cleaned and was cluttered with used paper towels and the bed linen and chair was soiled with faeces.
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This is among a litany of failures identified at the home that was caring for 140 people during July’s investigation. The three inspectors found that limited action was taken to protect people from harm, including evidence of one person's care plan stating they should be observed closely by staff as they were at risk of absconding and were verbally and physically aggressive towards others.
The report said: “Records showed this person was involved in multiple incidents involving people and staff. Our observations found that this person was regularly unsupervised which placed them and others at risk of avoidable harm.”
Staff expressed concerns to CQC officials about working conditions. The report said inspectors were told ‘staffing levels are too low’ and ‘people are at risk.' Workers at the home added: “Residents are getting neglected, if we had the right amount of staff, it would be ok, but people's safety is at risk as it stands. I take worries home."
The assessment also found that the internal environment at Stonedale Lodge was poorly maintained, and officers found multiple unclean areas such as toilets, bathtubs, chairs and door frames. It said: “There were strong malodours on two of the units."
Criticism was also levelled at the management of the home. The report said: “There has been repeated failure from the provider to ensure the delivery of safe, high quality care.
“The service did not look for safety related themes and trends reliably and robustly. There was little evidence of learning from events or action taken to improve safety.”
In a statement responding to the report, a spokesperson for Advinia Care Homes Limited, who operates the care home, said: “The safety and wellbeing of our residents is always our priority, and we welcome the scrutiny that comes from the Care Quality Commission.
“We fully accept the findings of this report and we have already implemented a significant quality improvement action plan. This action plan is being directed by our senior leadership team and a new interim manager of the home and includes a complete overhaul of governance and quality assurance processes and a full review of all high-risk care plans.
“In addition, we have also boosted staffing levels at the home, despite the continued nationwide recruitment pressures, and have begun a major programme of refurbishment at the home. We have communicated closely with our residents and their loved ones throughout this process, and we are pleased that they are fully supportive of the measures we have taken to date.
“We continue to work closely with the CQC, and the Local Authority, and we look forward to evidencing the significant improvements that we continue to make in the weeks and months ahead.”
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