Rathmore Care Home on 3 St Anne’s Road East has received a ‘requires improvement’ report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The report says ‘Staffing levels impacted people’s dignity. One person required 2 staff to assist them to mobilise. This meant from 6 p.m. until 8 a.m. the following day, they spent their time in bed, as there were not enough staff on duty to support them safely. This included with their continence needs. We received feedback that told us people were allocated a certain day of the week for bathing. Staff were unable to provide the option of bathing more frequently due to constraints on their time.’
Commenting on staffing levels, the report says, ‘Staff had duties in addition to providing care to people. Staff were also expected to cook and clean the home. For example, in a morning, one carer would be cooking, whilst the other was cleaning bedrooms, meaning there were no staff with people who lived at the home, increasing the risk of events such as falls. When someone required care or support, the kitchen was left unattended whilst food was cooking. One staff member said, “We do cooking, cleaning, everything on top of care. Some staff feel could do with a cook or a cleaner, it’s hard to say.” Another commented, “I think 2 staff up until six o’clock, if only doing care, would be enough. But when taking into account cooking and cleaning, it isn’t enough.”
Further on, the report adds, ‘There were not enough staff available to provide meaningful activities for people’ and raises issues such as fire safety risks had not been properly assessed and mitigated, and the home has a door to the adjoining property which is not secured..
Rathmore Care Home, provides care for up to eight elderly residents and, following concerns in relation to the management of risk and people’s care needs, underwent an unannounced Care Quality Commission inspection in May.
The CQC published its inspection report on 29th August. These were three judgements as bullet points:
- Overall rating for this service: Requires Improvement
- Is the service safe? Requires Improvement Fire safety risks had not been properly assessed and mitigated.
- Is the service well-led? Requires Improvement
The CQC say they will monitor improvements and request evidence that recommendations have been carried out before deciding when to re-inspect. The full report may be read here: https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-124974775
