Dried blood on a door and out of date food were among the problems raised as a regulator issued another scathing inspection report for a city region mental health care home.
Woodcrofts Residential Home on Warrington Road, Widnes, was initially placed in special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in March this year after the watchdog graded the level of service as “inadequate” - the lowest available score - and demanded a turnaround in performance under threat of closure due to breaches in its legal requirements. The CQC returned to Woodcrofts in July, publishing its findings on Saturday, October 1.
Again the CQC graded the home as “inadequate”, and listed a litany of problems it said put service users “at risk of harm”. “Gaps and shortfalls” in the quality of care ranged from “widespread infection control issues” to a lack of risk management systems, short staffing, the absence of an up-to-date safeguarding policy, and “no evidence staff had been trained” in the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. (DoLS).
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The CQC added “governance systems were not in place” and “action was not taken when there were concerns identified with the safety of the environment”. It concluded that “people were not safe” at Woodcrofts.
The CQC noted some better areas of practice such as service users receiving their medication on time and staff knowing what to do if they thought someone was being harmed or abused.
Clients also said they “felt well-cared for” and staff knew their “preferred care needs”, adding: “People told us they liked the home and the staff and felt well looked after.”
In its criticism of the care home’s infection controls and the discovery of dried blood on a door, the CQC said: “The provider did not always manage infection prevention and control effectively.
“For example, when we walked around the home on day one of our inspection, we found widespread concerns in relation to infection control practices which we feedback on day one of our inspection.
“When we returned for day two, some of these concerns had been addressed, however some remained outstanding.
“For example, slip mats and bath mats were in place for communal use in the showers.
“However, there was no evidence they were being cleaned in-between use, which put people at risk of coming into contact with bodily fluids.
“A communal door leading to the downstairs areas which was accessible for people had dried blood on it, putting them at risk from blood borne viruses.”
It added: “People were at risk of eating out of date food. We found various foods which were out of date still being stored in fridges and cupboards.
“Opened food was not stored appropriately in the fridge which meant people were at risk of being served contaminated food.”
The CQC said it found “no evidence that people had been harmed” but warned “systems were still not in place to effectively manage infection prevention and control”, and “this placed people at risk of avoidable harm” in breach of the Health and Social Care Act.
On staffing issues, the report said: “All of the staff we spoke with, except one, told us they felt there was not enough of them on duty.
“When we pointed out some of the issues with the environment, one staff member said it was because they 'didn't get enough time'.
“Another staff member said, ‘I just want to do the job I am supposed to do. Most days I do a bit of everything.’
“Another staff member said, ‘It would be nice if we didn't have to do the cooking and cleaning as well, then I would have more time to spend with people.’”
Woodcrofts was initially given 12 months from when it was placed in special measures to bring it performance up to scratch, i.e. in six months time, and if it still has any “inadequate” rating in any of the five main assessment criteria then the CQC will “begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service” and seek to revoke its registration - in effect shutting it down.
The ECHO has contacted Woodcrofts for comment.
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