A Bolton care home patient’s safety mat was left ‘full of faeces’ and health of patients was put at risk by mismanagement of medicines, according to a damning watchdog report.
Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found the excrement-covered mat, designed to break the impact if a patient falls out of bed, at Four Seasons Care Home
It had been left propped up behind the bed by staff at the care home on Breightmet Fold Lane.
The report said: “To have left the mat in the person’s bedroom in this state was not respecting their dignity, had infection control implications and was upsetting for their relative.”
The inspection also raised a series of concerns regarding Four Seasons in essential areas such as safeguarding people from abuse and management of medicines.
The firm, HC-One Ltd, which runs the nursing home, said it has accepted the findings and is working on addressing the issues raised.
Eight out of nine of the national standards reviewed by the inspection team were found not to be met when it visited in September.
The CQC said that although it passed on its last inspection, on October 2013, the home had not sustained those levels and raised a number of concerns, including that:
- Medicines were inadequately ordered meaning some people were prescribed only half of their doses on certain days putting their health at risk.
- Patients were at times not administered their medication at night and were given medicine by relatives with no checks in place to ensure it was done safely.
- A relative also told the watchdog “their relative was often in the same clothes as the day before and had slept in them.”
- Staff were said to not be “suitably qualified, skilled and experienced” to assist patients and there was a lack of staff especially at night.
- Staff did not have adequate training and were in some cases unaware of the type of training required.
A spokesperson for HC-One Ltd said: “We take this feedback extremely seriously and immediately devised a robust action plan which we are implementing.
“We are working closely with the relevant authorities to address the points raised.
“The health, safety and wellbeing of our Residents are our number one priorities and we are working hard to make sure we deliver the quality care they expect and deserve.”
