A specialist dementia care home has
been deemed inadequate in a damning report after a series of inspections.
Inspectors from the care watchdog the
Care Quality Commission visited the home five times in the past three months.
A
report from the CQC deemed Allison House, part of Cleveland Alzheimer’s Residential
Care Limited, to be inadequate or to require improvement in all areas of
assessment.
The single story, purpose-built home
on Fudan Way, Thornaby ,
has the capacity to care for up to 38 people living with dementia.
Concerns were raised about:
• Infection control procedures in the
home
• “Areas of malodour” being present,
furniture was worn and carpets frayed
• repairs “not always undertaken in a
timely manner”, with some remedial work taking up to five months
• a bathroom window with no
restrictor being able to be “opened wide enough to climb through”
• residents at risk of malnutrition
as their weight was not being accurately monitored
• “inadequate signage” and “poor use
of colour”, meaning people with dementia were unable to navigate their way
around the home independently.
• the dining experience being in need
of improvement, as people were seated at dining tables for up to half an hour
before receiving their meal.
Despite staff assuring inspectors
mealtimes were to become staggered to combat the problem, this had not been put
into place effectively.
Allison House was given an overall
rating of ‘inadequate’ and has been placed into ‘special measures’ by the CQC.
Services in special measures will be
kept under review and inspected again within six months, where “significant
improvements” should be made.
A statement released by the home
highlighted good work at the home including how staff are “caring and kind”.
It read: “The safety, well-being and
happiness of those entrusted to our care is always our top priority.
“As a charitable provider of specialist dementia
care for more than 25 years, Cleveland Alzheimer’s is absolutely committed to
providing the best possible service we can. “We would like to reassure
residents and their families that the matters raised in the CQC report are
being urgently addressed through a robust, far-reaching and thorough action
plan and wherever possible, have been rectified immediately. “An on-going
programme of replacement for furniture, flooring and equipment is underway.
“The report acknowledges that people
and their relatives are happy with the care provided at Allison House and that
staff are caring and kind.
“We thank the CQC for highlighting this and other
positives around the quality of care provided at the home.
SOURCE: Gazettelive, Bethany Lodge
No comments:
Post a Comment