A care home where inspectors found staff not wearing masks or adhering to social distancing rules has been placed in special measures.
Hillbrook Grange, in Stockport, has been rated as ‘inadequate’ following a visit by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
A damning report says residents were not safe from abuse and ‘avoidable harm’ due to a number of serious failings.
These included the unsafe management of medicines, ineffective infection control and a failure to properly follow safeguarding procedures.
If the home - in Ack Lane, Bramhall - fails to make sufficient improvements over the next six months it faces having its registration cancelled - which would effectively close it down.
Bosses at the home - which charges up to £805 per week - say they accept the report’s findings and are working closely with the CQC and the council to put matters right.
Prior to the inspection, relatives had raised concerns that staff were not adhering to social distancing rules. Officials saw evidence this was the case on the home’s social media page.
The report also found that the home had not ensured that staff used PPE (personal protective equipment) effectively and safely.
“On the first day of the inspection not all staff were not wearing face masks in line with best practice,” it states.
And while the home was found to have ‘an appropriate infection prevention and control policy’, best practice was ‘not always followed by staff in relation to personal protective equipment and social distancing’.
The failure to effectively manage infection control measures was one of no fewer than eight breaches of regulations identified by inspectors.
The report does, however, note that staff were wearing face masks on the second and third days of the inspection, and the home took action to ensure infection control measures were in place following the visit.
But the home’s shortcomings were not restricted to matters relating to the spread of Covid-19 and other infections.
Another serious cause of concern was the unsafe use and management of medicines at the home.
The report includes a catalogue of failures in this respect, ranging from how pills and creams were stored to how they were administered and recorded.
Systems for booking medicines into the home were said to not be ‘robust’.
The report notes that ‘one person missed having two days antibiotic treatment because staff did not know which medicine had been prescribed’.
Records were ‘found to be inaccurate and could not show medicines were accounted for, or had been given as prescribed’.
And medicines rounds were described as being 'very lengthy'.
The report added: “This meant that people were given their medicines at irregular time intervals. People were not always given medicines at the correct times with regard to food.”
Further concerns were raised over the failure to follow policy in respect of safeguarding people at risk of abuse.
One person disclosed an allegation of abuse to the inspector during the inspection.
The allegation was known to the management team but had not been investigated or reported appropriately.
Following the inspection CQC officials passed this information on to Stockport council but discovered the home had failed to report the incident as required by law.
The report adds: “Systems and processes did not operate effectively to prevent abuse. This placed people at risk of harm.”
The scathing report also notes how residents were ‘not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interest’.
Moreover, those living at the home did not always receive person-centred care.
Residents told inspectors they sometimes had to wait for care, with a resident reporting this had resulted in an incident ‘that impacted on their dignity’.
A spokesperson for the home said urgent steps were being taken to address the situation.
They said: “We were clearly very disappointed with this review, which we accept, in particular following being classed as ‘good’ in all areas in the previous CQC report.
“ Actions are already underway or planned to rectify every deficiency identified and we are working closely with both CQC and SMBC [Stockport council].
“We have appointed some new trustees and are reviewing all senior management positions.
"We are working closely with our colleagues within the Quality Team (Stockport Council and the Clinical Commissioning Group), in addition to CQC, to ensure that the required improvements are made quickly and that they are sustainable.
“The safety of the residents remains a priority and we will endeavour to ensure that the previously high standard of care is restored. Members of the quality team are currently on site providing support to the staff team and the residents.”
Councillor Jude Wells, Stockport council’s cabinet member for adult care and health, said steps were being taken to address issues a Hillbrook Grange.
She said: “We were made aware of these issues by CQC following their inspection and have been working hard with the regulators, the CCG and the home themselves to improve upon these serious concerns from the inspection.
“The council is confident through its quality assurance processes and partnership approaches that things will be put right, and improvements will be made to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the residents of Hillbrook Grange.”
Relatives of residents at Hillbrook Grange who wish to discuss the matter further are advised to contact the home directly on 0161 439 7377, or the council’s ‘quality team’ [email: ASC.Qualityteam@stockport.gov.uk].
