Care home placed on special measures

Attlee Court, which cared for 43 elderly residents at the time of its last inspection in January, has been graded inadequate in a  report.

The CQC said that staffing levels at the home, which is owned by London-based Minster Care Management Ltd, were insufficient to meet people’s needs and that the service lacked leadership.

In their report, inspectors said one staff member described the home’s dementia care unit as being in “chaos”.

In the report the staff member said: “You just don’t have time. Basic cares get missed because we’re rushing.”

On one occasion, inspectors intervened to help a patient put their shirt on as staff were too busy to attend to them and they complained of feeling cold.

Another resident said they had been out of bed for several hours but had not been offered a drink that day.

Inspectors said: “We saw staff were extremely busy but unable to cope with people’s needs and this compromised people’s safety and wellbeing.

“We saw on the residential unit three people were calling for staff, one person who was sitting on their bed said they had been waiting around three hours.

“Another person told us they had been waiting over half an hour for staff to assist them to use the toilet and said their bed was wet.”

The service was given an inadequate rating on four of the five criteria the CQC uses when assessing care homes. On the other criteria it was given a requires improvement grade.

Inspectors criticised the management of the home, saying: “We found the home was not well led. Staff were unable to offer examples of good leadership in the service.

“Several staff we spoke with said they found the registered manager unapproachable, or told us they and the registered manager did not speak to each other.”

Since the report was published the home’s management has changed.

The home has been given six months to make substantial improvements or it may face closure.

Minster Care have been contacted for comment.

Rob Hurren, director of integrated care at Wakefield Council, said: “We are working closely with the CQC to monitor the progress made by the home in addressing the concerns raised. We are also working directly with the home to ensure that residents receive safe and appropriate care to meet their needs.”

David Spereall , Local Democracy Reporting Service