Care home prosecuted by the CQC

A Leeds-based care provider has been fined £3,200 and ordered to pay costs of £731.90 for placing service users at risk of serious harm and for showing a degree of neglect by breaching care home regulations.

Orchard Care Homes.com Limited of Thorpe Park, Leeds, pleaded guilty at Darlington Magistrate’s Court to breaching care home regulations for the safe handling, administration and disposal of medication, and for neglecting to ensure that care plans were properly completed for the appropriate care of residents.

Orchard Care is the provider of St George’s Hall and Lodge nursing home at Middleton St George which currently has a registered capacity of 83, including many people with dementia.

The CQC decided to prosecute after an inspection in April last year revealed a number of discrepancies in the administration of medicines. The regulating body issued the provider with a notice ordering it to carry out a complete review of its processes for the handling and recording of medicines but a follow-up inspection two months later found that the home was still failing to comply with regulations.

Inspectors were also concerned that information recorded in some care plans was inadequate, out of date and inconsistent. This resulted in the CQC issuing a separate notice for the company to review individual care plans and make sure that they were appropriate for each resident’s needs and revised when necessary. The second inspection found that, while there had been improvements in some care plans, others remained unsatisfactory and failed to provide appropriate and detailed information of the specific requirements of some residents, including those with particular medical conditions.

A more recent inspection at the care home shows that a significant amount of work has since been done to meet standard requirements and recommendations made in the previous visits. The home is now rated as adequate.

Mike Mulcahy, Head of Curriculum at First Response Training, says: “It is vital that those who are responsible for the care of others are given thorough training and that they follow the correct processes and comply with regulations. If errors or omissions are made in the recording, handling, administration or disposal of medicines then the results can be very serious. We can offer a Handling and Administration of Medicines course that meets Care Standards requirements and has links to NVQ awards. It is a great refresher for experienced staff and an excellent introduction for the less experienced. It covers legislation, the effects of drugs and the correct processes for storage, administration and disposal.

“We also have a Care Planning Awareness course which is an ideal course for all carers who need to plan, produce, implement and review service user care plans. The training includes content on equality, diversity, discrimination and confidentiality and explains how to provide active support to the user. The care plan is perhaps the most important component for the high quality care of service users and is there to ensure that their individual needs are met.”

For further information on either of these courses, please call us today.