Concern at Shrewsbury care home's medicine mistakes
Inspectors have raised concerns about a care home after discovering one resident was left without prescribed medication for eight days.
The home now "requires improvement" in four of the five areas evaluated by inspectors.
Lymehurst, in Ellesmere Road, Shrewsbury, provides care for older people and people living with dementia.
There were 30 residents in the home at the time of the inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
Inspectors praised as "good" the general care provided by staff.
But they highlighted a number of failings in the handling of medication.
They also raised concerns that people were not always involved in "best interest meetings" over decisions to resuscitate residents if they stopped breathing.
The report states: "One person had not received their prescribed medicines for eight days.
"We spoke with one of the providers who was unable to confirm whether this person had received their medicine."
The report also highlighted issues over the understanding about the use of prescribed "when required" medicines for use in pain relief, with the staff members responsible unaware of how often they could be taken.
It states: "There were no written instructions for staff on how to manage these medicines safely. We spoke with one staff member who was responsible for the management of medicines. They were aware of when these medicines should be given. However, they were unsure of how often these medicines could be taken over a 24-hour period and when it would be necessary to obtain advice from the prescriber."
Inspectors also found the fridge used to store medication had dropped below the temperature required for 11 days, making medication "unsuitable for use".
The report said people were not always involved in decisions on whether residents should be resuscitated in the event of a cardiac arrest, adding: "The provider told us that best interest meetings had not been carried out to ensure that the decision made was in the person's best interest.
"Therefore people were not involved in important decisions about their care and treatment."
Inspectors did praise the caring attitude of staff and said residents said they felt safe living there.
The home was not available for comment.
