CONCERNS have been raised over the standard of care given to old people in Nottingham.
It follows a new Post investigation into care homes in the city. Last month we revealed that Notts County Council had stopped sending people to three care homes in Notts due to worries over the level of care they provided.
Today, we can reveal there are also two care homes in the city which have had referrals from Nottingham City Council suspended. It comes after inspectors from the Care Quality Commission found failings at Churchfield Court in Hartley Road and Park View Nursing Home in Gedling Grove.
An unannounced inspection of Park View on June 20 revealed a number of failings. A subsequent inspection shows improvements have been made – but the city council is still not referring people there.
Findings by the inspectors in June included:
A person who could not walk unaided not being helped to go to the toilet for more than eight hours.
Several incidents of unexplained injuries had not been referred to the local safeguarding team.
A cleaning trolley containing corrosive chemicals was left in a resident's bedroom.
A spokesman for Park View said: "The latest Care Quality Commission report from August 30 shows that while there are some remaining issues, you will see that:
Significant improvements have been made.
The concerns are mostly minor, with one or two listed as "moderate" (these issues have been dealt with).
It notes that we are doing exactly what we said we would do in our action plan.
"This view has been endorsed by all the leading agencies that we are dealing with.
"Nevertheless we take any concerns raised about the home very seriously, and will ensure that any concerns are dealt with swiftly."
At Churchfield Court during an inspection on July 16 inspectors said:
A person had not been bathed or showered for two months in spite of records showing "they had difficulties maintaining their continence".
One person sat for 45 minutes waiting for someone to assist them with their food while others around them ate.
They witnessed a resident regularly hit out at staff, who did not seem to be using any techniques to try to calm or divert them.
They saw a staff member allow another visitor to get involved in assisting the person to a standing position which resulted in the person trying to hit them both.
A spokesman for Churchfield Court said: "When Methodist Homes (MHA) acquired Churchfield Court from Southern Cross in late 2011, we took immediate action to make improvements. We have improved issues identified by the Care Quality Commission and continue to work together with the regulator and other bodies to raise standards.
"Methodist Homes took the voluntary decision to suspend admissions in order to allow the organisation to concentrate on positive changes to bring the home in line with the high standards of care to which Methodist Homes aspires.
"Staff have undertaken full training including health and safety and safeguarding vulnerable adults."
A spokesman for the city council said: "In the case of significant concerns, we will suspend the contract until improvements are made. We provide support in making improvements and carry out follow-up monitoring visits.
"Park View and Churchfield Court are continuing to work to improve and we have agreed a timeline for improvement.
"We work very closely with the Care Quality Commission and local partners such as the NHS and will alert them to any concerns we have about the quality of care in a home."
Have any of your relatives experienced poor care in a home? Call the newsdesk on 0115 905 1967 or e-mail newsdesk@nottinghampostgroup. co.uk
