Banned care home staff put residents at risk

A care home put residents at risk of harm by using agency staff who were subject to safeguarding investigations, an ombudsman has found.

Ailywn Hall in Honingham, Norfolk, continued to book four agency staff who were banned from the service and subject to alleged safeguarding incidents.

The care home was already under special measures when the Care Quality Commission (CQC) carried out a further inspection between February and March, and dropped its rating from Requires Improvement to Inadequate.

Ailwyn Hall, which is run by Ashley Care Group, said since the inspection "substantial improvements have been made across the service" and it "strongly disagrees with several aspects of the report".

The CQC said "serious safeguarding allegations" had been reported to itself and Norfolk police, against "multiple agency staff".

It said processes were not in place to stop these agency staff from continuing to work at the service.

The ombudsman also said a member of staff had not been properly vetted, which put service users "at risk of abuse".

The care home had not reported or fully investigated safety incidents and there were "high levels of falls and of unexplained bruising", the CQC noted.

One person reported their relative had 34 falls in six months, which the service claimed was due to dementia.

Relatives said concerns about falls or bruising had not been taken seriously.

However some people praised individual staff members and were positive about the new manager.

Inspectors found many staff referred to residents by their room number and not by name.

At one point staff missed key details, including whether a person who had died was still in the building.

"We found one member of agency staff providing one-to-one care for someone living with dementia, despite not knowing their name or needs.

"When we raised this to managers on-site, some didn't know this staff member was in the building," said Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of adult social care in the east of England.

The CQC also saw some residents waiting for help to go to the bathroom or shouting for meals that were very delayed because of a lack of staff.

Inspectors noted some staff were hesitant to speak to them for fear of retribution from leaders.

"The provider did not treat people with kindness, empathy and compassion and did not respect their privacy and dignity," it said.

Roberts said the ombudsman remained "deeply concerned" about the standard of care.

"Since our last inspection, the home failed to protect people from abuse and continued unsafely recruiting staff who lacked the basic information to meet people's needs," she said.

"People deserve to feel safe in their own home," she added.

A new management team had been brought into the service and were "doing their best" but were "disorganised", Roberts said.

A spokesperson for Ailwyn Hall said: "We strongly dispute any suggestion that Ailwyn Hall failed to take safeguarding concerns seriously.

"The concerns were identified by the home, reported by the home and acted upon by the home."

It said since the inspection "substantial improvements have been made across the service" and a review by Norfolk County Council in June had "identified significant improvements".

The spokesperson said the home did not believe the report "reflects the quality of care currently being delivered, or the progress made since the inspection".

A spokesperson for Norfolk County Council said: "The council had already taken action earlier this year by restricting new admissions to the home and has continued to monitor the service closely.

"The wellbeing of residents remains our utmost priority and we will continue to work with the provider and partner agencies to ensure the necessary improvements are made and sustained.

"The council's latest audit identified some improvements in a number of areas, but the home remains under close review."

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