A closed nursing home has been rated ‘inadequate’ after significant failings were identified in all five areas of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) new inspection criteria.
Inspectors found the Merok Park nursing home in Banstead, Surrey, was so short staffed that, at times, there had only been one nurse on duty to look after the 27 residents.
Not all staff had received a criminal records check and there was no evidence that all nurses were registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the inspection found.
The home was rated ‘inadequate’ in each of the five key lines of enquiry, after failing to provide care that was safe, caring, responsive, effective or well-led.
The failings are likely to compound concerns that the quality of care in nursing homes is falling behind other settings – the CQC’s most recent State of Care report found one in five services did not have enough staff to ensure safe care for residents.
Failure to improve
Owners Mr and Mrs S Cooppen had not taken steps to improve Merok Park, despite concerns raised by the watchdog during two unannounced visits and three other visits in November and December 2014. The CQC subsequently cancelled the provider’s registration and the home was closed on 9 December.
Other failings identified included staff working over 50 hours a week, an overpowering smell of urine, and residents being washed in cold water due to broken taps.
Staff also demonstrated rough behaviour towards residents, failed to notice when they did not eat their lunch and ignored people who were in distress.
They had also not received training in infection control and soiled clinical waste was left in open bags in a bathroom, which posed a serious health risk.
‘Simply unacceptable’
Adrian Hughes, deputy chief inspector of adult social care for the CQC, said the quality of care was ‘simply unacceptable’ and the owners had allowed the home to deteriorate to such an extent that residents were exposed to risk of harm.
“When the concerns were brought to the provider’s attention they failed to take action to improve the situation,” he said. “The environmental and staffing issues could have been quickly remedied but the providers were unwilling or unable to take the necessary action.”
The CQC, Surrey County Council and NHS Surrey Downs clinical commissioning group (CCG) worked with families to arrange alternative accommodation by 9 December.
Helen Blunden, designated nurse for safeguarding vulnerable adults at the Surrey Downs CCG, said: “As soon as the CQC confirmed that a closure notice would be served, a multi-agency team informed relatives and began the process of transferring residents to new homes.
“The CCG is confident that all safeguarding procedures were followed in the transport of patients. All residents were moved safely, with the appropriate care and attention, with both clinical and safeguarding professionals on site throughout.”
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The powers that be gave Mid Staffs 4years and then didn’t close them down, it seems there is one set of rules for the Private Sector and another for the Public Sector, this is blatantly unfair.
Why don’t you name the provider?
Hi Gillian, the name of the provider was not left out intentionally, it just didn’t get included. Have amended the story, but for reference the owners were Mr and Mrs S Cooppen. Thanks, Rachel
CQC inspected Merok Park in September 2013 and required some improvements. The inspectors returned in January 2014 and found that appropriate measures had been taken. It’s hard to believe that they were looking at the right things. In late November 2014 CQC inspected again for seven days and found that the home was so bad that they removed registration and closed it.
This is a story of an extremely poor care home and a regulator that continues to specialise in spending months, sometimes years, shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Pity the poor residents and staff who had to put up with this and then face sudden closure.
Effective inspection of social care can’t be done in the way CQC organises it. It doesn’t work.
Like social care itself, inspection can’t be organised by a huge, top-down, bureaucracy. Like social care itself, it must be locally responsive. Relatives, visitors and members of staff should be able to ring the inspector and discuss their concerns, and the inspector must be free to follow them up and respond immediately. Insufficient staff at weekends – go and see for yourself. Smell of urine – go and sniff for yourself. No hot water – check it out.
This does not cost more than the £millions CQC spends on layer upon layer of the bureaucratic inertia that blocks responsive action taken by locally known inspectors with the authority to act and feel accountable to the people who use the service.
Just consider why this report is published many weeks after the inspection that closed the home. Like other reports, it has been through the interminable “quality control” process. For what? Bureaucratic inspection produces bureaucratic care . . . and that is no care at all.
I agree, with a risk of infection from open wast, and a very strong smell of urine, indicating neglect, frail and elderly not prompted and monitored with nutrition and hydration, again, indicating neglect, cold water, rough uncaring staff, indicating abuse. I would rather have visited a prison than that place, let alone if I had the miss fortune to have to stay there. Those poor people having to suffer that for far to long.
Great post John. Will anyone in power ever wake up to this?? I very much doubt it, think how many of them would be out of a job if you did it your way.
Jobs for the boys etc etc.
Helen Blunden, designated nurse for safeguarding vulnerable adults at the Surry Downs CCG, said: “As soon as the CQC confirmed that a closure notice would be served, a multi-agency team informed relatives and began the process of transferring residents to new homes.
“The CCG is confident that all safeguarding procedures were followed in the transport of patients. All residents were moved safely, with the appropriate care and attention, with both clinical and safeguarding professionals on site throughout.”
What and they had to do it as an emergency in the middle of the night. She’s having a laugh at the poor residents expense. She should be sacked forthwith.
I am surprised that the police were not involved surely some of these acts could be classed as criminal