Alleged abuse at ‘inadequate’ care home
A failing Birmingham care home did not report incidents of alleged abuse to authorities, it has been revealed.
St Joseph care home on Silverbirch Road, Erdington, was last week given a rating of ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the second time in just six months, having also failed an inspection in July.
The home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 12 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection
St Joseph failed on the questions of safety and leadership, with a string of shortcomings identified by inspectors during a visit toward the end of last month.
These included ‘two incidents of alleged abuse concerning three people living at the home,’ neither of which had been reviewed or escalated to the relevant authorities.
Inspectors also found ‘discarded paving stones and mattresses and missing fence panels’ in the home’s garden.
Inspectors also found that ‘prevention and control procedures in relation to Covid-19 were not adequate’, while ‘staff did not use, take off or discard of PPE in line with current good guidance.’
Inspectors did find some positives from the inspection – two of the people they spoke to at the home said they felt ‘safe and happy’, while the report also notes: “Relatives confirmed, and we saw, some improvements to the safety of the environment had been made and were underway since the last inspection, for example new fire doors had been fitted.
“One relative told us new equipment had been purchased for one person and, ‘Staff tell me it’s much better for [person]’.”
However the inspection also brought up issues related to staffing and employment practices, with two of the four recruitment records sampled at random not containing completed DBS checks.
Inspectors also noted: “Most relatives we spoke with told us they felt more staff were needed to support people well.
“One relative said, ‘It’s impossible… if they are supporting someone to go upstairs, the other residents are left.’
“One staff member confirmed there were not enough staff to safely support others and to meet the needs of more dependent people at the same time.”
The result of the inspection means that the service remains in ‘special measures’, meaning that the CQC will keep the service under review and reinspect within six months provided they do not propose to cancel the provider’s registration.
St Joseph was contacted for this story but did not wish to comment.
