‘Do not resuscitate’ Halesowen care home is rated inadequate
A Black Country care home which placed all of its residents on ‘do not resuscitate’ forms has been named and shamed by the Care Quality Commission.
The health watchdog has included Everley Residential Home, in Halesowen, among four residential centres in the central region which have been placed in special measures after various failings were identified.
In its report on the home, inspectors claimed residents’ human rights had not been protected, saying: “Do not resuscitate forms had been implemented for all people living in the home in light of Covid-19.
“Systems and processes failed to recognise the correct assessment process had not been followed.”
At the time, the home had 13 residents.
The three other care homes are based in Westcliff-on-Sea, Chesterfield and Wigston. Their naming is highly unusual as the commission normally publishes reports without further comment.
Mary Cridge, CQC deputy chief inspector of adult social care, said: “People using health and social care services should be able to expect high-quality care.
“However, inspectors found these services were failing to meet standards people should be able to expect. As a result, we rated them inadequate and placed them in special measures.
“We continue to monitor these services. We will inspect them again within six months to determine whether improvements have been made.
Harm
“I am hopeful that these services will do what is required to meet standards people should be able to expect, but if we find that any of these services remain inadequate, we will consider taking further action.”
The CQC suspended routine inspections in March 2020 to focus on supporting care homes during the Covid-19 crisis. But the commission did carry out inspections where there was evidence suggesting people may be at risk of harm.
Three weeks ago, it published a report on Everley Residential Home which claimed people were not being protected. Inspectors said they found evidence of 12 incidents where a resident had been verbally aggressive and had made threats to harm staff at the 16-bed unit for elderly people with dementia and physical disabilities.
In addition, the CQC said some staff did not always wear personal protective equipment (PPE).
But the CQC stressed no cases of coronavirus had been reported and the home’s management was now conducting more spot checks to ensure PPE was used properly.
Inspectors said the home responded positively to the inspection and had begun to investigate what had gone wrong. Meetings were also being arranged to allow staff to speak about their concerns and incidents were being reviewed so appropriate action could be taken.
Everley Residential Home has been contacted for comment.
