‘Blame culture’ in care home where residents are left waiting for help
CONCERNED STAFF SAY THEY HAD BEEN ‘SHOUTED AT’ BY PROVIDER
RESIDENTS said they “don’t feel safe” living at a Nottinghamshire care home and sometimes wait more than an hour for their call bells to be answered.
An inspection of Stoneyford Care Home in Sutton-in-ashfield found it to be ‘inadequate,’ meaning the home was put into special measures.
Staff members told the Care Quality Commission (CQC) that they worried about the level of care their 33 residents were getting due to a shortage of workers. They also described a “blame culture” within the home.
Serene Care, which took over the home last year, apologised for the “serious shortcomings” and said it had replaced its management team. During the inspection between November 28 and December 6, residents described “excessive wait times” in response to call bells and a lack of support with personal care such as showering and going to the toilet.
The CQC, which published the report yesterday, was told they were sometimes waiting in excess of an hour and were not assured they would have been seen if the bell was used in an emergency.
“There are certain times of the day when there is no point in pressing your buzzer as staff won’t come, they are just too busy,” one resident said. “It’s not their fault, there simply isn’t enough of them.”
Workers said they had repeatedly raised concerns over staffing to the manager, but no action had been taken, said the CQC. “I do worry about residents not getting the care they deserve due to staff shortages,” said one.
Another added: “There are so many times there are only three staff instead of five, we can’t possibly meet everyone’s needs, we have told them [management] but nothing happens.”
The CQC said there was also a lack of appropriate checks for new workers which meant residents were at risk of being cared for by “unsuitable staff ”.
Describing a “blame culture” within the service, staff recalled being “shouted at” and “talked down to” by the provider.
While the CQC noted residents and staff seemed to be happy with a recent renovation, it found equipment, furniture and aids to be dirty. This includes shower chairs “stained with faeces” and chairs covered with crumbs in the lounge.
Amanda Lyndon, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said: “The level of care being provided is unacceptable so we have told Stoneyford Care Home where we expect to see rapid and widespread improvements and will continue to monitor them closely to keep people safe while this happens.
“We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to take action if people are not receiving the care they have a right to expect. We found the lack of activities and meaningful contact with others meant people spent a lot of time on their own. This didn’t promote a positive or person-centred culture.”
A spokesperson for Serene Care said: “We acknowledge the serious shortcomings that were identified during the inspection process.
“We would like to provide assurances that we took immediate action on the day of the inspection to address each one individually, we have a robust action plan which detailed any failings, we are happy to report these were completed to the highest standard prior to the publishing of the report, we continue to make further improvements to exceed expected standards.
“We offer our sincere apologies to our residents, their families, and friends We understand the worry and disappointment this report may have caused, we are now committed to regaining your trust.”