Bathroom equipment found 'soiled' after Leyland care home inspection

A recent inspection into the Jah-Jerih care home, by the Care Quality Commission, found that it was 'inadequate' in the safety of its care and that the service was not well-led.

Following an unannounced visit by two CQC inspectors on June 3, the Beechfield Court care home was reported to have been repeatedly failing to assess and manage risks to prevent residents from getting infections, including failure to follow cleaning checks and adhering to Covid-19 guidelines.

Areas of the home were also found to be 'visibly unclean' with communal bathroom equipment found 'soiled' and personal equipment, such as walking aids were also dirty.

And the damning report found that risks to people's health were not frequently looked at, with one resident continuously losing weight over a five-month period after they had not been weighed by staff.

From seven resident's care files that were then inspected, the report found that information was missing from all of them and that there was only 'brief' documentation of any accidents that had taken place in the home.

The inspector wrote: "Risks to people's health, safety and wellbeing were not consistently assessed or planned for. We reviewed seven care files and found inconsistencies or missing information in all of them.

"We found one person had consistently lost weight over a period of five months and there had been no professional support requested. Documentation did not include any information on how to manage this risk. Additionally, this person was then not weighed for four months and in that period had lost further weight.

"There had been a period where people's weights had not been consistently recorded to track people's weight and the risk of unintentional weight loss. People had lost weight and actions had not been taken to review the impact on their well-being.

"The provider was unable to evidence that lessons were learnt following accidents and incidents. We viewed the records of accidents and incidents which did not always include details of any lessons learned.

"The documented action taken following the incidents was brief, when we discussed some of the incidents with the management team, they were not able to assure us of the actions they had taken in response to the accident or incident.

"The provider had not adequately assessed, and managed risks related to the prevention and control of infection. During the inspection, we found the environment was unclean in several areas. We found equipment in communal bathrooms to be soiled. People's personal equipment such as walking aids were visibly unclean."

The CQC rates service providers, such as care homes, in five specific areas of care, and found that the caring and responsive nature of staff was 'good', but that the effectiveness of care needed improvement.

And it found that the management team were receptive to feedback and appeared keen to improve the service, with changes made to the staff team, roles and responsibilities after the inspection.

The safety and leading of the service was branded 'inadequate', meaning the care home provider has to now update the CQC on what changes they intend to implement following the report.

The Leyland care home provides accommodation for people over 65 who require nursing or personal care, or live with dementia, physical disabilities and sensory impairments and is run by the Jah-Jireh charity, which has homes in Wigan and Blackpool.

The inspectors spoke with six service users about their experiences, as well as eleven members of staff including the business manager and senior care workers.

The report found that staff were putting vulnerable residents at risk by repeatedly failing to follow Covid-19 procedures such as wearing PPE and socially distancing and also failed to follow legislation on facilitating visits into the home during the pandemic.

Staff were not adequately supported with training for their roles and responsibilities and the home's own policy had not been followed by managers in relation to giving staff members the training they needed to meet the specific needs of residents.

The service was also advised to seek further guidance and follows best practice for supporting people living with dementia.

The inspectors added: "The service was not well-led, there were significant shortfalls in the oversight and leadership. Systems to assess, monitor and improve the service had not been implemented and operated effectively.

"The completion of cleaning tasks was not always checked and documented. We found the premises were not well maintained. We saw paintwork was chipped in some areas which could prevent adequate cleaning."

However the Jah-Jireh charity responded to the Post saying that improvements have been implemented as a result.

A spokesperson said: ‘We acknowledge the CQC report, and we are working closely with the relevant authorities to address the matters raised.

"We are contacting our residents and families individually to keep them informed. Since the inspection, improvements are continuing to be implemented.

"With this in mind, we aim to ensure that the Leyland Home returns to its previous overall “Good” rating at a future inspection."

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, you can try our digital subscription today by ​clicking here.