Care home negligence: Sefton care home put in special measures after multiple failings found
December 21, 2021
According to recent reports, a care home has been placed in special measures after the care watchdog found a catalogue of failings. This could potentially lead to people suffering care home negligence.
The care home in Sefton, had a “lack of leadership” and no medicine policy in place, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said.
It also said the home had not improved since a previous inspection in January.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service said during the inspection in October, inspectors had “significant concerns with health and safety” and said vulnerable residents were at risk of harm.
The CQC report said medicines were not always safely managed and there was no appropriate medicine policy in place.
The home’s director Gregory McVeigh said he was “utterly devastated” by the report, which he said “did not reflect the caring nature of our home which has been run by my family for 36 years”.
“The failings relate almost exclusively to poor paperwork which came about as a result of a previous manager walking out of the job,” he said.
He added that the home had “since found a fantastic manager and the failings found have been rectified”.
Care Home Negligence
Old age and ill health make patients in care homes and nursing homes particularly vulnerable to mistreatment. Neglect in care homes happens when those paid to look after a person’s welfare are neglectful in their duties. There are many ways a care home can be negligent with instances including:
- Failure to prevent pressure sores by not moving a patient regularly in bed or their wheelchair, or providing them with the equipment to do this themselves
- Not identifying and treating bedsores quickly to prevent them from becoming infected
- Giving a patient the wrong dose of medicine, or even mixing up their medication completely with another patient
- A poor standard of staff training which leads to injury caused by preventable mistakes
- The causing of injuries like bruising or fractures when moving a patient, such as between their bed and a chair
- Not providing bed rails, grab bars, walking frames/sticks and other mobility aids
- Insufficient monitoring or supervision of patients with mental illness
- Inadequate support during mealtimes that causes dehydration or malnutrition
- Lack of nursing care that allows a condition to deteriorate unnecessarily
Claiming on Behalf of Someone Else
If a loved one has suffered care home negligence, you may be able to make a claim on their behalf. In these cases, it is usually the next of kin who can make the claim on their behalf. Those who represent the deceased’s estate can also make a claim.
We understand that when you lose a loved one, making a claim may be the last thing on your mind. The solicitors we work with are trained to deal with matters such as these. Therefore, they show the utmost compassion and understanding when it comes to making difficult claims.
How We Can Help
Here at The Medical Negligence Experts we work with solicitors who have years of experience dealing with medical negligence claims. This includes care home negligence. Contact us today by filling in oyr contact form. Or call us on 01614138761 to speak to one of our friendly experts.