Care home placed in special measures over breaches

A watchdog has placed a care home in special measures after an inspection found residents were being put at increased risk of harm and staff were overworked.

West Wood Care Home in Sheringham was inspected at the end of last year by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which monitors the practices of care homes in the country.

A report published this month ruled the facility, which provides support to older and younger people living with dementia, a physical disability or sensory impairment, was inadequate.

But the management of the care home said they "strongly disagree" with the assessment and said the home "remains fully committed to delivering the highest quality of care".

The CQC found numerous problems at West Wood Care Home, which is run by Artisan Care.

This included staff working excessive hours, medicines not being given on time or as prescribed, parts of the home being unclean and people "not always being treated with respect".

In total, four breaches were identified concerning person-centred care, safe care and treatment, governance and staffing.

The care home had space for up to 70 residents but at the time of the inspection, it had only 30 people staying there.

Artisan Care criticised the report and challenged the findings.

A spokeswoman said: "We take all feedback from the Care Quality Commission extremely seriously, however, on this occasion, we strongly disagree with their assessment of our home.

"We have been in sustained contact with the CQC since the inspection six months ago, and they are fully aware of our position.

"Nevertheless, we remain committed to continuous improvement and to ensuring the highest standards of care for our residents."

She said that, since the inspection, they had strengthened their governance and oversight through the introduction of an electronic incident management system and an electronic audit platform.

"We have also welcomed a new home manager into post, and launched a company-wide Dementia Strategy, which is being actively supported through onsite training," the spokeswoman added.

"We remain fully committed to delivering the highest quality of care to our residents and we look forward to the CQC returning to reinspect the home imminently."

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