‘INEFFECTIVE, UNCARING & UNSAFE’: Care home criticised in shocking report

The Orchard Lodge Care Home in Lytham Road, Blackpool has been criticised again by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) just months since its previous criticism.

In the report published on July 24, the CQC said it had failed to carry out urgent improvements after an inspection earlier this year which found a catalogue of problems including locks being put on the outside of residents’ rooms which could be used to keep them in.

The Orchard Lodge Care Home on Lytham Road has since been sold by its owners and has been renamed Hollins Bank Residential Care Home by the people who have taken it over.

Care Quality Commission inspectors visited in May and twice in two days in June to see if action had been taken following the report in April and the issuing of seven warning notices.

They found Orchard Lodge bosses Dharma Ltd had failed to meet the requirements of the warning notices and had not undertaken all of the actions on their improvement plan, which they said would be completed by April 30.

The latest report stated: “We observed poor practices in relation to the maintenance of people’s safety when being supported.

“We found multiple breaches of people’s environmental safety.. We found multiple concerns with the maintenance of infection control and cleanliness.

“The medication audit had not been carried out monthly as indicated on records held by the home.

“We noted there continued to be periods during the week when there were inadequate numbers and skill mixes of staff on duty to provide care.

“We observed poor practices in relation to staff assistance to help people to eat their meal.

“Staff failed to promote people’s dignity or show respect to individuals.”

The inspectors had said a stair-gate had been removed from the main staircase and no alternative safety measures introduced to protect the residents, some safety devices on windows and doors were missing, kitchen safety was poor with pans of boiling water not monitored and where residents could have access to them with a risk of an accident, and staff had poor training over infection control and medicine administration.

At meal times staff failed to consult residents when carrying out support and failed to make mealtimes a social occasion., the report said.

There was patchy nutritional risk assessments and no consistent monitoring of weight loss to prevent any instances of malnutrition.

The inspectors also said: “The provider continued to fail to work within the Mental Capacity Act.

“We observed incidences where people weredeprived of their liberty without authorisation.

“There was no documentation that best interests, consent, risk assessment and mental capacity assessments had been undertaken in relation to deprivation of liberty or the continued use of bedrails.

“Throughout our observations, we observed poor practices from staff when they supported people. We noted staff interactions were poor and they did not demonstrate a caring attitude .”

They also found that many residents’ records and care plans were not up to date or sufficiently in-depth which could have led to inappropriate care.

However they did say that some extra staff training had been introduced since the inspection last November which led to the April report and that staff felt better supported than before.

But the inspectors said: “The overall rating for this provider is ‘Inadequate’.

“This means that it has been placed into ‘Special measures’ by CQC.”

They said the purpose of special measures was to ensure that providers significantly improve care and to provide a framework to use enforcement powers.

Despite repeated attempts to speak to Hollins Bank Residential Care Home, no-one was available for comment.

A CQC spokesman today said: “Orchard Lodge was inspected in June this year, as a result of our findings and the serious concerns identified we placed the service into special measures.

“We have continued concerns over the safety of this home and will continue to monitor it closely alongside the local authority to ensure that the residents are not at risk of immediate harm.

“We will return to the service shortly to check whether improvements have been made, if not we will consider taking further regulatory action against the provider.

“We have been made aware that the provider intends to sell the service, however formal notification of this decision has not been received.”