(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
A Darlington care home has been rated 'inadequate' for leadership as staff say 'morale is at rock bottom' and the home has had three managers in three months.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found “widespread and significant shortfalls in leadership” at Eastbourne Care Home after an assessment from June 18 to July 17.
Staff told inspectors there was “no stability in the home due to lack of leadership”, while concerns were also raised over staffing levels, medicines, care records and a lack of activities for residents.
One staff member told inspectors: “We have had three different managers in three months, there is no stability in the home due to lack of leadership. I am hoping the new manager that we have now got stays and does what she can to bring the home back up to how Eastbourne should be.”
Another said: “Morale is at rock bottom.”
Eastbourne Care Home Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT (Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)
The home was rated ‘requires improvement’ overall and for being safe, effective, caring and responsive, while its well-led rating fell to ‘inadequate’.
The watchdog said the provider was still breaching governance rules and had also breached requirements to support residents’ independence and community involvement.
A report published on September 17 said the provider had failed to maintain improvements found in earlier inspections.
The CQC said: “The provider’s governance processes had not consistently introduced or sustained improvement.”
Inspectors found inconsistent and incomplete information about residents’ risks, missing or poorly recorded consent, and unsafe medicines management.
The home was also short-staffed on some days, while records suggested some workers were putting in excessive hours.
One staff member told inspectors: “I do not feel that staffing levels are adequate to provide our residents with the high standard of care they deserve. On some days, we are under extreme pressure and can only manage the minimum level of care for each resident. In my opinion, this is not good enough.”
Inspectors saw workers were “very busy and did not always have time to interact with people in a meaningful way”.
Medicines records were also not always clear or consistent.
Medicines audits had already identified some of the problems, but they “had not been effectively addressed”.
Residents also spoke positively about staff, with one telling inspectors: “The staff are really good.”
But the CQC said most residents spent most of their time in their rooms, with little contact with other residents or staff.
Activities workers had left and no replacement arrangements had been made for residents’ social, cultural or religious needs.
One resident told inspectors: “There’s no activities, I just sit all day.”
Another said: “The staff have no time to talk. I just sit here all day.”
A staff member said: “The residents are very unsettled, they are not getting any stimulation.”
The CQC said staff worked hard but often had time only for basic tasks, leaving little opportunity for meaningful contact with residents.
The report said leaders had changed again since the previous inspection and lacked the knowledge and experience needed to drive improvement.
Most staff also felt unable to speak up because they believed nothing would be done about their concerns.
One member of staff told inspectors: “We have no trust left in us where management are concerned.”
Another said: “When you see something that is not right you tell the senior or nurse, but nothing gets done.”
Inspectors also found serious weaknesses in the home’s governance systems.
Leaders carried out a wide range of checks, but failed to spot or tackle problems with the building, medicines, risk management, consent, care records, social contact and staff wellbeing.
Some safety problems flagged at the previous inspection had been fixed, but inspectors found new ones.
These included residents having unsupervised access to unused areas and being unable to reach alarm cords in an emergency.
The report said the problems were fixed after the inspection, but the provider’s own checks had failed to find them.
Healthcare partners also raised concerns during monitoring visits and suspended new admissions to give the home time to make and embed improvements.
The CQC said healthcare partners told inspectors further progress was needed to ensure people received safe, high-quality care.
Eastbourne House Ltd has now said it had already taken significant action since the CQC inspection.
A spokesperson for Eastbourne House Ltd said: “We take the findings of the CQC report seriously and have already taken significant action to address the areas identified.
"We are encouraged that more recent reviews by the local authority have provided positive feedback and recognised the progress made since the CQC assessment.
"The report also records residents speaking positively about our staff and saying they were happy with the service. Our entire team remains focused on building on this progress and providing the safe, compassionate and high-quality care our residents deserve.”
he findings come after a watchdog began investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of an Eastbourne Care Home resident.
Kevin McNichol, 66, died at Darlington Memorial Hospital on March 3, a day after being admitted from the care home.
An inquest was opened and his initial cause of death was recorded as sepsis linked to an infected pressure sore.
Senior Coroner for County Durham and Darlington Jeremy Chipperfield said doctors’ concerns had prompted the referral.
He told the hearing: “I can see Kevin's case was referred to us essentially because the doctors were concerned about an element of neglect possibly related to the pressure sores.”
Kelly Taylor, coroner’s officer, told the court: “He was admitted from his care home with sepsis and started intravenous antibiotics.
“He initially had shown some improvement but later deteriorated and died the following day.”
After a post-mortem examination at Newcastle Freeman Hospital, pathologist Dr Nigel Cooper gave Mr McNichol’s cause of death as sepsis from an infected pressure sore and undetected heart disease.
The CQC said it knew about Mr McNichol’s death and remained in contact with the home as inquiries continued.
A CQC spokesperson said: “The CQC has been made aware of the death of Kevin McNichol following his stay at Eastbourne Care Home in Darlington, and our condolences are with the family at this sad time.
“We are in contact with the home as they look into the circumstances around this incident, so we can understand if there is any regulatory action that needs to be taken to ensure people are receiving safe care.
“CQC’s priority, at all times, is the health and wellbeing of people using health and social care services, and all information we receive informs our monitoring of services and future inspections.”
READ MORE:
- Healthcare at a County Durham prison forced to improve as watchdog steps in
- Parents have 'total peace of mind' at Sunderland nursery where 'children thrive'
- ‘Scandalous’ end-of-life care situation prompts North Yorkshire councillors to act
The care home was previously placed into special measures and given an inadequate rating by the watchdog, according to earlier reporting.
At the time, the home said the rating did not reflect the “high-quality care provided” and said the safety and wellbeing of its residents and staff was of “critical importance”.
The latest CQC report said the provider had been ordered to submit an action plan addressing the inspection findings.