Netherton care home criticised over lack of security

A lack of such safety measures along with concerns over the storage of medicine, choice given to residents, and outdated criminal checks, saw the Care Quality Commission (CQC) rate Nethercrest Residential Home in Netherton as requiring improvement.

The premises on Brewster Street is part of Astonbrook Care Homes, and provides accommodation and personal care to up to 43 older people, specialising in those with dementia.

• Click here to read the full CQC report

The CQC report states: "When we arrived at the home, we were let into the building by a member of staff who did not speak with us or check who we were. The staff member opened the door and allowed us to walk into the home freely.

"This meant that the appropriate action had not been taken to ensure that people were kept safe from the risk of unauthorised people having access to their home.

"As the staff member had not stayed with us upon entering the home, they had also not ensured that the door was secured following us arriving."

Another incident described in the report raised questions over how much residents were asked about what they would like to do each day.

Although the inspectors were pleased to see that staff had been required to provide criminal record checks where they started, there was no system in place to ensure these were updated.

It was also highlighted that at the time of the inspection, over September 28 and 29, for three weeks workers had identified that the fridge used to store medicines had been too warm.

However, no action had been taken in that time. While overall concluding that the home required improvements, in terms of safety, effectiveness, care and leadership the report did note positive aspects.

The standard of food was praised. "People told us they were happy with the meals they were offered," the report said. "One person told us, 'the food is lovely, we have a choice'.

Despite the low rating for safety, residents expressed their happiness when spoken to by the inspectors, who reported: "People told us that they felt safe at the home. One person told us, "We are all safe here".

Nick Farmer, Nethercrest operations director, said: "Since the CQC inspection in September the staff working with our new manager and me at Nethercrest have worked hard to do more than just match the CQC requirements on improvements."