A Cumbrian care home has been left reeling after a CQC inspection found that the facility 'requires improvement'.
Particularly damning was the CQC’s finding that residents who had tested positive for Covid at The Old Vicarage care home in Askham-in-Furness, named by a recent survey as 'the number one safest small town in the North-West of England', were able to continue mixing freely with residents with a negative status.
The inspection came after the CQC were made aware of concerns about the running of the home, particularly regarding the key issue of infection control. The Commission noted that residents were able to move freely around the home’s two lounges regardless of whether they were Covid positive or negative, and that social distancing guidelines were ignored, putting residents 'at high risk of being infected'.
The director of the home, Geoff Slater, chalked the failings up to the fact that, on the day of the inspection, the manager of the home was isolating at home, having tested positive themselves. As he explained: “This resulted in all home protocols not being fully adhered to and instances of residents 'mixing' which should not have taken place. All issues have now been fully addressed and robust systems introduced so as to ensure that this never happens again.”
Perhaps even more seriously, however, the CQC found that the home had failed to inform the local authority when allegations of abuse had been raised by a member of staff. According to Mr Slater: “The allegation of abuse was made internally by a member of staff who complained of another member of staff speaking loudly to residents. This matter was fully investigated and it transpired that the member of staff in question suffered from hearing difficulties. The CQC inspector was entirely happy with the way that the matter had been investigated and the outcomes provided.
“Unfortunately, it is CQC directive that all allegations of abuse, however minor, should be reported to the local authority. We have since discussed this matter with the safeguarding team at Cumbria Social Services who confirmed that under their directions the matter would not have been required to be reported as it was considered to be a minor incident.”
