Melton care home accused of putting residents at risk of Covid infection

The CQC inspection team which made an unannounced visit to The Amwell gave a damning report on the facility and downgraded its overall rating from ‘good’ to ‘inadequate’.

The £6million Asfordby Road home, which was opened by diet and fitness guru, Rosemary Conley, three-and-a-half years ago, was said by the inspectors to be deficient in protecting residents from the risk of harm and abuse and that medicines were not always dispensed in a safe way.

People living there did not always have their needs met because there were insufficient numbers of staff with the right skills, the report also found, and there was a shortage of equipment to cater for residents with mobility issues, with only one hoist on one of the floors to help a dozen people who needed it.The inspectors also concluded that the home was not well managed and led.

The CQC report stated that ‘the registered manager, management team and staff were complicit in deceiving the inspection team during the inspection site visits about the use of PPE’.

It continued: “People were placed at serious risk of acquiring Covid-19 and other infectious diseases.

“The registered manager, management team and staff consistently failed to use Personal Protective Equipment as per the national government guidance.

“The deputy manager told us use of PPE was only a ‘recommendation’ and so staff compliance was not ‘forced’.

“This meant people were not safely protected and were unnecessarily exposed to infection risks and associated serious and severe health complications.”

Inspectors said 69 people were living there at the time of the inspection. Residents at The Amwell each have an en suite bedroom and have shared use of a garden, cinema, bistro, gym and salon/spa area.

Inspectors were called in due to concerns raised in relation to the management of pressure wounds, monitoring of weight, nutrition and hydration, collaboration with health and social care professionals, the use of PPE and safeguarding.

As a result, they reviewed just the key areas of safety and how well-led the service was there.

The report found that policies were in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse but that staff weren’t consistently following them.

It states: “Records showed one person had been physically aggressive and threatening towards people and staff on 10 occasions.

“The provider had not informed the local authority of these incidents as required to.

“Risk assessments had not been reviewed following incidents which meant people were being exposed to the continued risk of abuse and avoidable harm.”

Inspectors also reported that: “There was not enough staff to meet people’s needs or keep them safe.

“During our inspection a non-care worker was observed assisting people at breakfast as there weren’t enough care staff.”

The home has now been placed into ‘special measures’ as a result of the inspection, which was carried out on June 29 with the report published on September 10.

Inspectors will review The Amwell again in six months to assess if staff have addressed the areas of concern.

This is the second time the home has been required to improve its quality of service - it managed to attain a ‘good’ rating last summer after being found to be one which ‘requires improvement’.

It retains its ‘good’ standard for issues of how effective, caring and responsive it is as a care home service.