South Tyneside care home in special measures after ‘significant shortfalls’ in care

A South Tyneside care home has been placed into special measures after “significant shortfalls” in care were discovered.

Hebburn Court Nursing Home in Hebburn has been rated inadequate and placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The CQC say action was taken in order to “protect people” following an inspection in October.

Hebburn Court, run by GB Healthcare, provides accommodation with nursing and personal care for up to 55 people, some of whom are living with dementia. The CQC say the inspection was carried out “following whistleblowing concerns regarding poor care and serious incidents not being dealt with appropriately”.

The CQC highlighted “significant shortfalls” in care, with staff unable to find toothbrushes or toothpaste for dementia sufferers. The inspection report said: “Although people and relatives were generally happy with the care and people felt safe, our assessment found significant shortfalls in people’s care. People did not receive care that promoted their safety, wellbeing or dignity.

“Although some staff were kind and caring and treated people with respect, this was inconsistent. People living with dementia lacked meaningful stimulation and engagement. People did not have opportunities to participate in meaningful activities. People living with dementia did not receive person-centred and dignified care, including suitable footwear, support with oral healthcare or meaningful activities. Some people did not receive the support they needed to eat safely.”

The report added: “People’s care was not always delivered in line with best practice guidelines. People were not supported to maintain good oral health. Staff were unable to locate toothbrushes and toothpaste for people living with dementia on the first floor.”

Following this inspection, the overall rating for the home, as well as the areas of safe and well-led, have moved down from good to inadequate. The areas of caring, responsive and effective have moved down from good to requires improvement. The service has now been placed in special measures which means it will be kept under close review by CQC to keep people safe and it will be monitored to check sufficient improvements have been made. CQC issued a warning notice following the inspection to focus the their attention on making significant improvements around how they were managing the service.

Victoria Marsden, CQC interim deputy director of operations in the north, said: “When we inspected Hebburn Court, it was disappointing to find such a deterioration in the level of care being provided. Ineffective leadership led to significant shortfalls in quality, placing people at risk of harm, including poor record keeping, ineffective risk management, and a failure to report and investigate serious incidents.

“Care providers have a duty to report significant incidents to CQC and the local authority to ensure people are safeguarded and don’t come to further harm, but this wasn’t always being done at Hebburn Court. Some serious incidents weren’t being reported at all and others were very delayed.

“People weren’t always supported appropriately, for example one person who was at risk of choking had no staff member with them whilst eating as requested by their GP. On other occasions, staff weren’t consistently using lap belts and foot plates on wheelchairs which could cause an injury.

“People weren’t supported to maintain good oral health and staff were unable to locate toothbrushes and toothpaste for people living with dementia who needed support, meaning they could have gone days without cleaning their teeth which is unacceptable.”

She added: “It was concerning to see little engagement or conservation between staff and people. The home’s leaders didn’t provide stimulation, activities and community engagement to aid people’s wellbeing and give them a sense of purpose.

“We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid, and continued improvements and will continue to monitor the home closely to keep people safe during this time. We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to use our regulatory powers further if people aren’t receiving the care they have a right to expect.”

Inspectors found:

  • People’s medicines weren’t managed or handled safely.
  • Actions from the last fire and electrical safety inspection were long overdue and had not been actioned.
  • Care plans weren’t person-centred, accurate or up to date.
  • Audits lacked reflection and failed to explore trends to enable staff to learn from incidents and prevent them from happening again.
  • The electronic system being used didn’t provide information about lessons learnt or outcomes.
  • The interim management team confirmed all staff needed support around safeguarding and mental capacity.
  • The building wasn’t well maintained; paint and woodwork were damaged in places and some furniture needed attention.
  • Staff said they didn’t usually have time to read care plans.

Despite the concerns raised, inspectors found the home was generally clean and domestic staff were visible throughout. Most people and relatives gave positive feedback about the quality of meals and the interim manager confirmed staffing levels had been reviewed and increased accordingly.

Hebburn Court Care Home gave no comment when contacted by Chronicle Live.

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Image Credits and Reference: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/south-tyneside-care-home-special-30784875