Care home ordered to make urgent improvements
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) issued a formal warning to Family Care Homes Limited (FCH) about its care home Beach House in Wellington Parade in Kingsdown.
During an unannounced inspection, the CQC found adequate steps had not been taken to protect people living in the home from inappropriate care.
It was also found that scheduled activities were not always taking place, residents were not being helped to access the community, they were not supported to develop basic living skills and they were not given a choice of what to eat or drink.
Staff levels were sometimes so low residents were unable to go out and one-to-one support was unavailable meaning the dignity of some people in the home was compromised. Deputy director of CQC in the south Ian Biggs said: "Places like Beach House are home to some of the most vulnerable users of care services.
"Some residents need a lot of support to access the community or take part in the daily activities you and I take for granted, and it is disappointing that this level of support was not always forthcoming at Beach House.
"Our inspectors will return in the near future to carry out another unannounced inspection. If we find that the home is not making the required progress we won't hesitate to use our legal powers further to protect the people who live there."
Syd Coombes, director at Optima Care, a specialist health and social care provider which took over FCH last year, said: "FCH takes the issues highlighted by the CQC seriously and is working with the Commission and local social services to ensure all the concerns raised are resolved by the next CQC inspection expected in August 2012. "Optima Care identified long standing concerns over quality at this service after taking it over and this only became evident after the purchase of the business was complete.
"Optima Care is making good progress but agrees with the CQC that Beach House has some way to go in making improvements that can be sustained in the future.
"All residents have been externally reviewed by care management teams since the CQC inspection and recognition has been given of the significant improvements that are being made by the team at Beach House.
"Following these reviews Optima Care has received confirmation that no residents will be moved out of the house.
"The CQC and Kent Adult Social Services recognise that at no stage has resident safety been compromised at Beach House and both organisations have accepted that the Optima Care action plan to resolve the outstanding issues is workable and on track.
"Optima Care accepts its responsibility to ensure that its obligations for safety and quality are met with the utmost priority."
Source Kent News
July 23, 2012, 1:17 pm
