Shropshire care home leaves resident in bed for more than a year
A Shropshire care home left a resident in bed for more than a year while others were at risk of malnutrition and dehydration, according to a government watchdog.
Doddington Lodge near Cleobury Mortimer, which looked after up to 41 people, some living with dementia, was placed in special measures. At the time of the Care Quality Commission’s inspection, there were 30 people living there at the home.
The home in Hopton Wafers was rated inadequate in all areas apart from one. The weekly fees at the home ranged from £681 to £1,349. It has since voluntarily closed.
The inspection, which took place in September, was unannounced and inspectors found that the home registered provider was in breach of seven health regulations.
Read the full CQC report on Doddington Lodge
Inspectors said that residents were exposed to harm, both in terms of their physical environment and the care they received.
Some of the residents were left without hot water for more than two months and an obstructed fire escape route did not get cleared when it was identified.
The residents were also at risk of malnutrition and dehydration as their nutritional dietary needs were not always identified or followed and people were not provided with the support they needed to eat and drink enough.
The report adds: “One person had dropped their food and was unable to pick it up and staff did not help them.
“Another person was not given the support they needed to have a drink that had been prepared for them even though a member of staff walked past the person during our observation.”
One resident’s deterioration in their Parkinson’s disease meant that their ability to swallow was being affected. Food amounts were not being monitored for this person and between July and August 2017 they had an unplanned weight loss of 1.7kg.
Also, complaints were not always appropriately responded to and lessons were not learned.
The residents were not always treated with dignity and respect, and were not able to enjoy individual interests and hobbies, according to the report.
At the time of the inspection there was no registered manager in post.
The inspection was brought forward due to concerns the CQC had received from health professionals and members of the public.
Before the visit, the CQC received concerns about the quality of pressure area care provided by staff.
The report said one resident had been in bed since August 2016, and they had previously had Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). The report said that people with DTV should be encouraged to move and this had not happened for more than a year.
Inspectors looked at another resident who had to be repositioned every two hours as they were at a high risk of developing skin damage from pressure areas.
But they found that for 10 hours each day no repositioning took place.
Staff told inspectors that they felt some of the wheelchairs used were unsafe and one member of staff had said “they had recently nearly tipped a person out”.
The lift had been out of order for two weeks before the inspection.
The report adds: “A date for the work to be completed to the lift had not been arranged.
“This had meant that hoisting equipment and people had to be taken through the outside car park to access parts of the building including the bathroom.”
But the report did say that residents had the support they needed to take their medicines safely, and that “medicines were stored safely and appropriate systems were in place for the ordering and disposal of medicines”.
Also, staff told inspectors that checks were made to make sure they were suitable to work with people before they started to work at the home.
The care home was placed in special measures as a result of the inadequate rating but the CQC says the service closed voluntarily in October.
