A care home in Wigan where ‘someone had fallen down stairs’ and ‘trip hazards were left out in the hallway’ have vowed to do better after a damning report.
The Care Quality Commission rated Haighfield Care Home in Standish as ‘requires improvement’ after their findings during their inspection in late August - triggered by the serious injury suffered from the stairs incident. In addition to the trip hazards, inspectors found medical and cleaning equipment was not stored correctly and a fire risk assessment had not been completed since February 2022 - despite an incident earlier in the year where the electrics had ‘blown’ in one part of the home.
The report published this month alluded to this putting the 45 older residents ‘at risk’.
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Management was also highlighted as an issue with ‘high numbers’ of staff not receiving regular supervision or appraisals, the CQC claimed. This was another factor which led inspectors to question resident safety.
“The last full team meeting was in February 2022 and the last residents' meeting was in August 2021,” the report said. “People living at the home and their relatives told us they were not regularly asked for their views.
“The current home manager completed daily walkarounds to check the environment and safety within the home. However, these were not documented.
“Provider audits were completed. However, these did not always provide a focus on the areas of concern we had found during the inspection. Confidential information was not stored securely, with documents such as staff personnel files and personal care records openly accessible.”
Staffing was brought into question by the CQC, who said residents told them “there are not enough staff, they are always short”. Other residents said "I think they are a bit short staffed sometimes”, and "they are sending agency [staff] with no knowledge of care though”.
Despite this, residents believe the staff do care and work hard even if they are short staffed, the report explained. Inspectors also highlighted that no residents were left unattended that they saw but suggested staffing reviews would be necessary.
The same residents who were interviewed said they ‘felt safe there and well looked after’. Infection control was all up to standard as well.
To conclude, the CQC report found that ‘appropriate systems were not in place to ensure people's safety was effectively managed’ and that ‘appropriate systems were not in place to ensure there was effective leadership and oversight within the home’.
The care home management claim to have put in place the actions required of them by the health body and that lessons have been learned.
A spokesperson for Haighfield Care Home said: “Actions required have been completed and we continue to work with CQC and the local authorities. We welcome all opportunities to improve our practices and customer experience.”
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