People living at a Manchester independent hospital had access to garden shears, a new report by a health watchdog has found.
And others were given their medications at incorrect times.
Monet Lodge was branded ‘inadequate’ in a recent inspection by the Care Quality Commission – just six months after first being placed under special measures.
Inspectors visited the independent home over two days, on August 11 and 12 of this year.
The service is said to provide ‘expert care and support for people living with complex dementia or mental health conditions’.
The report, published on October 25, found that emergency medications were out of date, prescription charts were not completed correctly and staff gave patients medication without waiting the required time between doses.
It also found bugs in light fittings in the corridors, a ripped mattress being used as a crash mat and a pair of garden shears that had been left in a box that patients could easily access.
But the hospital was still rated ‘Good’ in the effectiveness, caring, and responsive aspects of its care
The independent hospital, managed by Making Space, had also been visited by inspectors from the CQC in February and was urged to take immediate action following their findings.
The service, which cared for 16 patients at the time of inspection, was placed under special measures and kept under review.
It was found to have a poor ‘track record on safety’ and failed to address various environmental risks.
This included finding broken door handles, holes in bedroom walls and potential ligature anchor points that had not been recognised.
Following its most recent inspection, chiefs told the home it must remain under special measures and make urgent changes or it could risk being closed down.
nspectors said: “An external audit completed in March 2021 had recognised many of the issues we found at our inspection in August however, these had not been acted upon sufficiently.
“We found emergency medicines which were out of date, prescription charts not completed correctly and staff giving patients medication without waiting the required time between doses as instructed on the prescription charts.
“Despite an improvement in the environment from our last inspection, we found that new environmental issues had not always been picked up on or acted on following identification in internal audits.
“These included bugs in the light fittings on the corridors, a ripped mattress being used as a crash mat and garden shears in a box in the garden that patients could easily access.
“Our findings from the safe key questions demonstrated that governance processes did not operate effectively at team level.
“Audits did not identify all new issues and managers did not make all the necessary improvements to keep patients safe.”
The home will now remain under review and has been given changes that must be made before the next inspection – including ensuring that qualified staff are competent to carry out their roles, especially in relation to dispensing medicines.
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Source: Manchester Evening News, 28th October 2021
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