Home's vow after exit rap

Westfield Rest Home, in Westfield Road, was handed an overall rating of ‘requires improvement’ from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following a recent inspection.

It was found to be lacking in three out of five key areas, although it was ‘good’ at being caring and responsive, the watchdog found.

In its report, the CQC said: “Although staff were clear they had to report any suspicions of abuse, we found this was not always the case.

“A recent incident had not been reported to the local authority as a safeguarding concern for their investigation.

“This meant there had been no oversight or guidance sought externally from the local authority safeguarding team.

“Our records indicated the registered manager had failed to notify the CQC of this incident.”

However, the report found the home’s manager, Pauline Adams, took action to manage the situation.

“They had also notified the relative at the time of the incident,” it said.

“We spoke with a member of the family regarding this incident. They told us they now felt their relative was safe and well cared for.

“We asked the registered manager to submit a notification regarding the incident outlining what measures they had in place to manage the risks posed.”

Ms Adams told The Gazette: “The service user had been talking to staff when they requested a coffee. While a staff member went to make the coffee the service user went to their room.

“On staff taking coffee to the service user’s room the service user was not there.

“After a complete search of the building, a fire exit door was found open.

“Police and family were notified immediately. Police returned the service user a short while after and the family were happy with the outcome.

“We are fully aware of our CQC report, we have submitted an action plan to the CQC and the back garden has now been secured for the safety and well-being of our residents.”

The CQC said the home needs to improve in three areas: safety, effectiveness, and leadership.

Staff were not always supported through their training and supervision to meet people’s needs, safe recruiting processes were not always in place, and staffing levels were not effectively managed, the report said.

In two areas – caring and responsiveness – the home was judged to be good.

Staff at the home, in Westfield Road, were found to be caring and attentive and were seen enjoying ‘warm and friendly’ relationships with the home’s 12 residents.

They promoted people’s dignity and privacy, offered ‘homely’ bedrooms, responded well to people’s changing needs, and put on a wide range of activities.