Care home put in special measures after whistleblower claims
A care home in Wednesbury has been put in special measures following a damning inspection which found a catalogue of failings.
Ormidale House, in Wood Green Road, has now been ranked as ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The home’s safety, effectiveness and leadership was given the bottom rating.
Its responsiveness and care was also rated as ‘requires improvement’ by inspectors.
Inspectors said the visit was brought forward to March, which was earlier than planned, due to ‘concerns we had received from a whistleblower’.
The home was previously rated as ‘requires improvement’ in June 2017.
The report said: “Prior to our inspection we received concerns from an anonymous whistle blower.
"The concerns they had raised were allegations of physical and emotional abuse.
"We immediately shared these concerns with the local authority, who are responsible for investigating allegations of abuse and involving other agencies, such as the police, where deemed necessary.
"We have continued to share information with the local authority during this time, to ensure people were safe in the home.
“We found that no robust measures were in place to mitigate potential risk.”
Bosses at Ormidale House said no findings were made in relation to these claims.
The report added: “People’s weight was not monitored on a regular basis to minimise risk of malnutrition, obesity or ill health.
"We could not see that any improvements around these areas had been made and the service had declined further.”
It added: There was no clear system to report or review serious incidents including choking, falls, injury to people or staff, medication errors, verbal or physical abuse.”
A spokesman for Ormidale House said: “We are making improvements to the home and moving forwards. There were no findings in relation to the concerns raised by a staff member.”
Councillor Ann Shackleton, Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for social care, added: “Sandwell Council is working closely with the CQC and the home’s management team and is overseeing and managing the improvements through its safeguarding process to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all the residents."
