Is a lack of adequate training putting care home residents at risk?

Following the closure of Winterbourne View and Rose Villa Care Home in Bristol, the nursingtimes.net reported on 17 August 2011 that a third care home run by Castlebeck is to close. The Arden Vale Care home in Solihull is reportedly being closed ahead of legal action by the Care Quality commission (CQC).

The CQC investigated Castlebeck’s other homes following abuse uncovered by BBC Panorama at Winterbourne View in Bristol. The CQC found “serious concerns” at four of the homes.

It is also understood that on the 28 July 2011 the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC), the governing body for nursing and midwifery in the UK, launched an investigation into the conduct of nurses employed at a number of care homes owned by the Castlebeck care home group.

NMC chief executive Professor Dickon Weir-Hughes said: “Some registered nurses appear to have forgotten the most basic elements of their professional code of conduct”.

The investigation follows publication of the CQC’s report into the quality of care at 23 of the 24 care homes in the Castlebeck group, it concluded that 11 out of the 23 did not comply with CQC standards.

The CQC report identified a number of serious concerns including poor training, inadequate management of safeguarding incidents and poor care planning. 

The CQC has also issued a formal warning to Carmand Limited stating that it must make urgent improvements to standards of care at two of its nursing homes. Inspectors found that people’s care needs were not monitored on a regular basis and that the care plans that were in place did not reflect the current needs of the people who used the service. 

The owners of a care home at Congresbury in North Somerset have been told by the CQC that they must take action to ensure that people are protected from unsafe or inappropriate care.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) recently inspected St Catherine’s Care Home, Horwich.  The CQC report highlights the regulator’s major concerns including the following:

• There were gaps in promoting the privacy and dignity of people who lived at St Catherine's Care Home.

• People's health and wellbeing was at risk because risks they faced in relation to malnutrition and dehydration were not properly assessed or managed.

• People's health and wellbeing were at risk because medication was not being managed safely.

• People did not have their personal and confidential information appropriately managed. There were significant gaps in the quality and security of personal information.

The cases highlighted above identify poor practice in record keeping, communication, care planning and in ensuring the nutritional needs of residents is met. Staffing levels, obviously, are an important factor in the delivery of quality care. 

The current economic climate has ensured all businesses are reluctant to spend money where there is no immediate and concrete return. The first expenditure and resources to be cut are training and training budgets.

It is clear, as identified by CQC in their investigations, that quality training is required across the care sector, to ensure that residents receive suitable, sufficient care in a positive, healthy and safe environment.

Personal Care Consultants can offer a tailored training package to care home managers and their staff to refresh and improve skill levels and knowledge in all or any of the following areas:-

• Health and Nutrition
• Catheter Care
• Infection Control
• Administration of Medication  
• Record Keeping & Reporting
• Risk Assessment
• Pressure Sore Prevention and Treatment
• Outcome Focussed Care Planning
• Principles of Care
• Manual Handling of People
• Dementia Awareness
• Diabetes Awareness

For more information please visit our Training pages or e-mail training@thecareplan.com or call us on 01244 390677 for an informal discussion of your requirements.