safeguarding alert

[macca7894]

Hi on the 23 nov 16 i found 9 untaken tablets in my mothers drawer, this is the fifth time i have found tablets in her drawer the other times i found 1 tablet, 2 tablets, 11 tablets, and 8 tablets. These tablets were a mixture of donaprezil antibiotics frusamide ibuprofen( which the care home insists they do not give any ibuprofen out). the first 4 times i reported the finding of these tablets to the care home seniors and also the manager on each occasion to be told they would make sure she takes them,on the last occasion i raised a safeguarding alert on 23/11/16 by telephone to social care to be asked to put my concerns in an email which i did on 27/11/16. I got a reply by email on 28/11/16, saying a meeting would be held and i would be invited, as of today 6/12/16 i have heard nothing else. my question is how long does this take as my mother is obviously at risk of overdosing or not getting the appropriate medication. She is in the care home under a dols with dementia and lacks capacity she also has cellulitis lymphodema left leg high blood pressure and has had a dvt in her left leg and kidney failure which resulted in a week in hospital. any help or comments on this matter much appreciated as i feel its taking to long to address.

Many thanks Macca.

 

[fizzie]

This is unacceptable. I think you need to pester SS on the phone - they will delay and then it will be Christmas and the care home is absolutely in the wrong and putting your mum (and how many others in danger). How ridiculous of them to say they don't give ibuprofen - she must be getting them from somewhere even if it is the handbag of a staff member or visitor and they are not doing their job. I would phone social services and demand immediate action or say you will involve the police because it is potentially life threatening. The local paper is a great one to wave under their noses too - makes them hit the ceiling and act before the bounce back and hit the floor. I would also copy your last email to complaints@cqc.org.uk with the name of the home in the subject line.

 

[Beate]

I don't understand why the care home leaves the medication in her room. These should be locked away and given at the appropriate times by staff! This is so basic an error that I understand your concern. Unfortunately, until you chase every day and make an almighty fuss, they might take their sweet time. So make a fuss! Tell them they are placing your mother at grave risk and you will hold them personally responsible if anything happens to her. Put this in writing to both the care home manager and Social Sevices - go as high up as you can.

 

[CynthsDaugh]

I too find it very surprising that it was possible for the medication to be found in a carehome residents drawer. In the care home my Mum goes to daycare and the senior stays with the person until they have taken the medication so no opportunity for someone to squirrel it away.

Keep chasing SS - your Mum might not be the only one this is happening with.

 

[love.dad.but..]

Oh my goodness...this is most definitely unacceptable. Dad is in a dementia nursing home and the handling and issue of drugs to each resident is quite rightly very closely supervised and if a resident refuses tablets, as my dad does sometimes, they keep the drugs locked in their drugs trolley and try again. The nurse does not leave Dad to it, she either sees him chew...I know he shouldn't!.....or takes them away. The nurses do usually get him eventually butI tell me if they haven't managed and sometimes I try but If he still refuses apparently with some drugs there is a strict timescale if the drug has been out of its packet and it should be disposed of, according to a nurse at the home. I would consider this to be a failing in their system ofthe drugs handling and most certainly an urgent adult services safeguarding and CQC issue not just for your mum but if other residents wandered into her room and found them.

 

[macca7894]

Safeguarding alert follow up

Hi just an update i took your advice and sent my concerns to Care quality commission by email have just received there response from the inspector from the north region.They have informed me that they are not dealing with my concerns and to take the matter up with the team leader of the social care department concerned this is the very person i raised the safeguarding with, which i find very disappointing to say the least. As of today 14/12/2016 i still have not heard back from him i wonder just what is the point of the C Q C if that is the best they can do.
Regards Macca.

 

[Kevinl]

The issue of the CQC came up on another thread recently, this is from their website (link below);
"Complaints to providers – and why we can’t take them up on your behalf
If you’ve experienced or seen poor care, you have a right to feed back or complain to the organisation that provided or paid for the care.
We can’t make these complaints for you or take them up on your behalf. That may seem confusing but it’s because we don’t have powers to investigate or resolve them."
Sums it all up really, toothless tigers.
K

http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/complain-about-service-or-provider

 

[LadyA]

There's no excuse for medication being in a resident's drawer - and untaken meds mounting up like that. In my late husband's nursing home, all meds were kept locked up and only given out by a Staff Nurse - there are always two Nurses on duty. The nurse always made sure correct doses for each resident was given and marked off, with time given and whether the med was taken or refused - and if refused, it was tried again later, or administered covertly, and all was noted down.

 

[Shedrech]

I agree with Lady A
at dad's care home the staff are very careful with meds - they supervise the resident taking the meds to be certain that either the meds have been taken properly (some residents are very clever at eg hiding them under their tongue and spitting them out later) or refused, in which case the meds are taken away and accounted for and the refusal is noted on the records - and as Lady A says, with some residents they are very creative, and careful, with how meds are administered
the staff do at times trust me to make sure dad has taken his - if he refuses, I take the meds back and show the senior on duty - BUT it took them time to trust me and the first few times they did I realised the senior had kept an eye on what was happening to make sure I was doing things properly - I rarely help out this way, just once in a while when dad is a bit anxious, it saves the senior having to wait around for the right moment
my point is - there is NO possibility that meds can be stashed away by a resident - every pill/dose is accounted for
so do keep complaining - maybe mention that if you don't get an appropriate response you will contact the local paper to see if they are interested in this information ...
best wishes

 

[fizzie]

Hi just an update i took your advice and sent my concerns to Care quality commission by email have just received there response from the inspector from the north region.They have informed me that they are not dealing with my concerns and to take the matter up with the team leader of the social care department concerned this is the very person i raised the safeguarding with, which i find very disappointing to say the least. As of today 14/12/2016 i still have not heard back from him i wonder just what is the point of the C Q C if that is the best they can do.
Regards Macca.

You can respond to the CQC saying that as it is putting a vulnerable person at risk you want this to be taken as a formal complaint about the home - they won't investigate individual complaints but complaints do affect when the next inspection is and it is always taken up at inspection

 

[fizzie]

The issue of the CQC came up on another thread recently, this is from their website (link below);
"Complaints to providers – and why we can’t take them up on your behalf
If you’ve experienced or seen poor care, you have a right to feed back or complain to the organisation that provided or paid for the care.
We can’t make these complaints for you or take them up on your behalf. That may seem confusing but it’s because we don’t have powers to investigate or resolve them."
Sums it all up really, toothless tigers.
K

http://www.cqc.org.uk/content/complain-about-service-or-provider

It is crazy and i've now told people to go to LA adult care safeguarding team and get an email and put it in writing - the LA have a duty to follow up any safeguarding issue and you can ask for general feedback (so you know that they've done it). Reporting it to the CQC is important though because it HAS to be recorded and it can trigger an early inspection. So the pathway really is LA first (always by email because they lose it) and the same concern email to the cqc to make it clear that you want it recorded against the provider and they have to do that too.

 

[Grannie G]

I can`t believe what is happening to provision these days.

When my husband was in residential care, only three years ago, one of the CQC inspectors gave me her contact number, in relation to a TPer whose wife was in another home and had suffered neglect , and asked me to let her know if there were any other causes for concern.

 

[fizzie]

I agree Grannie G - these days it is a battle to get anything recorded and anyone to respond and when they do it is weak response because they know it doesn't really matter. Even the CQC rating of 'good' is really basic quality care and even if abuse or neglect is identified it is incredibly difficult to get the Police even to consider it. We desperately need an agency that works on behalf of individuals and there isn't one now and nothing on the horizon either