A Bury care home had been slammed as inadequate in a report by the Care Quality Commission this week and placed in special measures
Inspectors at Burrswood Care Home found that there had been a systemic failure of leadership and management across all areas.
There was a deep sense of mistrust between staff, the registered manager, deputy manager and senior managers acting for the provider. This led to a closed toxic culture amongst staff which led to poor quality care
Medicines were not managed safely which placed people at risk of harm. Medicines could not always be accounted for, which meant these medicines may not have been given as prescribed or misused
Management of witnessed and unwitnessed incidents, including falls, was not safe.
Inspectors found multiple examples where people were known to be at risk, but there had been a failure to act to adequately mitigate those risks.
Safeguarding referrals had not always been made to the local authority safeguarding team where people had experienced harm.
Deployment of staff was disorganised and frequently chaotic. This was most evident on Peel unit where they found a distinct lack of leadership and management.
Staff worked to a ‘task-and-time’ regime which meant daily routines were operated for the convenience of staff, and not in a person-centred way to best support people.
Some people had food preferences based on their religious or cultural background. However, these preferences had been flagrantly ignored by staff.
Induction, training and development of staff was inadequate.
There was a distinct lack of qualified nursing staff with the relevant professional training, skills, and experience to effectively deliver nursing care to people living with complex advanced dementia.
Alison Chilton, the CQC’s deputy director of operations in the north of England, said it was “concerning to see such a significant deterioration in the quality of care”.
Following the unannounced inspection at Burrswood Care Home back in August the manager of the home resigned to be replaced by an interim manager
A spokesman for the care home told the BBC
“The senior leadership team have already formulated and implemented a robust action plan and we are confident that the service is already feeling the benefit.”
