Care home bosses hit back at 'inadequate' rating given by inspectors and blame 'unusual pressures'

The rating was given after inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited Seaton Court in Burntwood in March.

The CQC said it was prompted in part due to concerns raised about staffing levels, how risks to people were managed, as well as an incident where a person using the service sustained a serious injury and died.

Among their findings, inspectors said people's safety was not being appropriately managed.

But Paul Metcalfe, director at Seaton Court, has hit back at the report, saying it is "not reflective of the current state of care at the home".

He said when the inspection was carried out the manager had resigned and the care home had agreed to assist County Hospital in Stafford with pressures it was facing by taking in eight people, which had caused some issues.

Mr Metcalfe claimed as a result there were complaints but the recent inspection was "clearly out of keeping with our usual standards owing to exceptional circumstances".

Since the inspection "considerable resources" have been put into the care home and a new manager has been put in place, he said, and he has invited the CQC to carry out a re-inspection.

Mr Metcalfe said: "At the time of the inspection, our manager had resigned, and we had faced unusual pressures as we had agreed to assist the NHS at Stafford hospital due to a bed crisis they were facing.

"We received eight residents from the hospital, but sadly we were not informed as to the medical needs and position of those clients, who arrived in ambulances a week after they were supposed to.

"Relatives were not informed by the hospital where they had moved the patients until a few days after, and family members wanted to speak to a doctor, which we don’t have on site, as if they were still in hospital.

"This perpetuated complaints from the residents’ families and the subsequent urgent inspection from the CQC which has damaged the home’s reputation.

"We have had a consistently good rating from the CQC for the last four years, and this inspection was clearly out of keeping with our usual standards owing to exceptional circumstances."

He said the care home had been reliant upon agency staff at the time, owing to sector-wide shortages and the additional residents.

Mr Metcalfe added: "Since the inspection we are fully staffed, with a new manager in place, and have put considerable resources into the home to ensure that our usual good rating standards are ensured.

"We have asked the CQC to come and reinspect the home as the snapshot from March is not an accurate depiction of the home, where staff are incredibly hard-working and where we provide good standards of care.

"We are confident we will regain our good ratings."

As the inspection report was published on Wednesday, Andy Brand, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said: “When we inspected Seaton Court, it was concerning that the care being provided wasn’t of the standard that people should be able to expect.

“Leaders didn’t implement effective systems to ensure people were safe. People weren’t always protected from potential abuse and neglect as systems didn’t show where incidents might have occurred, and they hadn’t been investigated or referred to appropriate services when people were at risk of harm.

“Additionally, we identified several incidents which hadn’t been identified as possible abuse or neglect.

"For example, one person had a scald from a hot drink given to them by staff - this wasn’t investigated, and nothing had been done to prevent it from happening again.

“People's dignity wasn’t maintained; their independence wasn’t promoted, and they didn’t feel like staff listened to them."

He added: "People were left in bed all day without having their personal care needs met.

"One person had a large stain on their nightwear, they told us they had spilled a drink the day before and they hadn’t been able to change their clothing.

"Another person told us they had raised concerns about insects in their room which was distressing them, however after telling staff, nothing had been done to address the problem.

“Following our inspection, we reported our findings to the provider, so they know the areas where we expect to see rapid improvement. If sufficient progress has not been made, we will not hesitate to take further action to ensure people’s safety and wellbeing.”

The care home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 68 people and was providing care for 31 people at the time of the inspection.

Dr Matthew Lewis, medical director at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust, which runs County Hospital in Stafford, said: “We always try to send patients home as soon as they are ready as we know that people don’t want to stay in hospital unnecessarily.

"We work closely with our health and social care system partners and will only discharge a patient when it is clinically safe to do so.

“It is disappointing that Seaton Court feel that on this occasion our high standards were not met.”