'People were not safe': Telford care home under fire after confidentiality breaches, medication given incorrectly, and residents left alone

Walnut Villa in Oakengates will now be kept under close watch by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and could face closure if it fails to make improvements.

People being left in the care home alone, confidentiality breaches and medication given incorrectly were some of the concerns highlighted by inspectors in a new report.

The CQC said it was unclear who was managing the home and on the first day of the inspection it was being managed by two care workers, one of whom had only been in post four days.

The report said 'people were not safe' and staff were aware that people were being abused outside of the care home but did not take any action to safeguard them.

Speaking about the management of medicines, inspectors said: "A medication administration record (MAR) showed a person had been prescribed treatment for constipation.

"This medicine should only be administered when needed. However, the MAR showed this medicine had been administered every day.

"We observed prescribed medicines in cabinets that were not identified on the MAR.

"Staff were unable to confirm whether or not these medicines were still in use."

The report highlighted 'insufficient staffing levels' and concerns from the local authority that staff were not always present, despite the care home being funded to provide 24-hour care.

Special measures

It said: "The provider told us that people were left in the home alone."

Inspectors said there were 'widespread and significant shortfalls in people's care, support and outcomes'.

The CQC also received a complaint about staff breaching a person's confidentiality by sharing personal information with a person who was not a relative and has not got power of attorney.

Inspectors said people were not treated with compassion and 'did not have choice or control over their life'.

The care home, in Stafford Road, was given an 'inadequate' rating in all areas inspected in June, including whether the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led.

The report said: "The overall rating for this service is 'inadequate' and the service is therefore in 'special measures.'

"Services in special measures will be kept under review and, if we have not taken immediate action to propose to cancel the provider's registration of the service, will be inspected again within six months.

"The expectation is that providers found to have been providing inadequate care should have made significant improvements within this timeframe.

"If not enough improvement is made within this timeframe so that there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service."

The care home was unavailable for comment.