Nursing home in special measures over concerns for safety and care
The Old Vicarage Nursing Home has been rated inadequate just months after its sister home was deemed unsafe and closed.
A nursing home has been put in special measures after inspectors raised concerns over care and safety.
The Old Vicarage Nursing Home in Chasetown, Burntwood, was rated ‘inadequate’ in a damning inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The report comes just months after its sister home next door, Vicarage Court, was shut for good after being deemed unsafe.
Inspectors found ‘similar failings’ at the Old Vicarage, which looks after 26 people, during an inspection at the end of last year.
The home was previously rated as ‘good’.
Run by Morecare Limited, problems at the home included people left at risk of harm, medicines not managed properly and residents’ dignity and privacy not upheld, the report said.
And while family and friends were free to visit as they wished, people at the home ‘were not spoken to kindly’ or with care or respect, the report continued.
Incidents were not always reported to ensure residents were kept safe from abuse, people were sometimes not given the correct food and drink, and a manager was not always available to lead the service.
Last August the CQC visited Vicarage Court and uncovered failings, which led to Morecare closing the facility in September.
The CQC had demanded improvements after a previous visit in November 2016 but said standards had plummeted.
Following the closure residents were moved to the Old Vicarage, of which inspectors said: “Medicines were not always managed or administered as prescribed. There was not a registered manager in post.
“People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not always support them in the least restrictive way possible.
“People’s dignity and privacy were not always upheld and they were not always spoken to kindly.
"Their preferences were not always planned for and when their needs changed their care was not always reviewed."
Two inspectors and a specialist nurse advisor completed the unannounced inspection on October 9 last year.
The home was awarded an overall rating of ‘inadequate’ after being judged on five categories; safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led.
Only ‘caring’ and ‘responsive’ categories were rated as ‘requires improvement’, while the rest were rated as ‘inadequate’.
No-one from Morecare Limited was available for comment.
