Care home complaint

[jonno321]

Hi, there are numerous issues with the care home where dad currently lives and despite having had 2 long meetings with the manager over the last couple of months, nothing changes. The issues are varied and serious, but include problems regarding poor administration of drugs ( we have found tablets on the bathroom floor, in dad's pocket, on the plates in the dining room where other residents could pick them up etc.), failure to put in place ANY of the measures that the dietitian had recommended well over a month ago, failure to respond to the disruptive nature of other residents of the floor (one resident entered dad's room at night and punched him in the face, yet they have not been moved to line of sight of the carers' station), carers who are clueless as to dad's dietary needs or that fact that he is diabetic, employing agency staff who can't understand basic English (hence are completely unsuitable for working with dementia residents) and failure to put in place grab rails in the communal toilets where he has fallen twice (grab rails are in all the en-suite bathrooms where he has never fallen, yet they continue to fail to fix the communal toilets, despite knowing that if he goes in the communal toilet he WILL fall). This is just a brief selection of a long list, all of which combine to make the care home an unsafe place of residence.

What is the next suitable step to take? Is it contacting the CQC, the local council, the more senior management of the care home? All of them? The situation can't go on any longer and we would rather the issues were sorted instead of having to look for a new care home and all the issues that entails with moving someone with dementia.

Thanks for any help/advice anyone can provide.

 

[Grannie G]

I would copy and paste your complaint to all concerned.

It is what I did when I had a complaint about the hospital treatment my husband received. Apart from a bog standard reply from one party, all others took notice and my complaint was followed up.

I did not send emails, they are too easy to ignore. I sent letters by recorded delivery.

 

[nellbelles]

Hello @jonno321 and welcome to DTP
I would write to all of the above mentioned and I think @Grannie G’s advice about sending everything recorded delivery is a good idea
I hope now you have found the forum you will continue to post

 

[emp]

I wonder if it would be good to contact the local safeguarding team as well? Certainly the medicines bit and the diet could result in harm to both your dad and potentially other residents too

 

[jonno321]

I wonder if it would be good to contact the local safeguarding team as well? Certainly the medicines bit and the diet could result in harm to both your dad and potentially other residents too

Hi thanks for the advice, we are going to start reporting to the aforementioned organisations tomorrow, including the safeguarding team. Today, there was another serious incident, where I actually received a telephone call from NHS 24 asking for my permission to report one of the members of staff - apparently a carer had been asked to do an assessment of dad, but refused saying he was too busy dealing with lunches!

 

[Palerider]

problems regarding poor administration of drugs ( we have found tablets on the bathroom floor, in dad's pocket, on the plates in the dining room where other residents could pick them up etc.)Thanks for any help/advice anyone can provide.

This is very serious, the giving of medication should always be witnessed to check the patient has taken it and if not to note they haven't and the tablets then safely removed. Medications should not be left on lockers or tables and the assumption made that the person concerned will take it and that is with someone who has capacity!! The fact that these tablets were lying around is somewhat concerning in an area where clients would not know the difference. There are very specific guidelines on this issued by a number of professional bodies namely the
Royal Pharmaceutical Society and other governing bodies

 

[Latitude]

I wouldn't hesitate to report to safeguarding and CQC. First try and jot down in bullet format, what specifically you are unhappy about. Try and give a brief example of each situation. It will help you understand and if you have clairty it will help Keep to facts. And try and write a short blog, diary or similar evey day or when things appear to be "off"

 

[northumbrian_k]

That is a long list @jonno321. You may get better results by concentrating on the most serious issues first. Improper administration of drugs should be high on your list. Diet and nutrition are vitally important too. Whether there is capacity to move a resident who is disruptive, or if that would be in their best interests, I am not able to say. The potential for falls in any area is of concern. It is a value judgement as to whether staff '"who can't understand basic English" are "completely unsuitable". A lot of work with people with dementia is about feelings and tactile things, especially when the person themselves has lost the facility to understand what is said to them. This may not apply to your Dad but may do where others are concerned.

As to what to do, I would suggest:

1. continue to work with the care home management (at the highest level) by raising the things that you see as most important, seeking explanations and suggesting how improvements may be made

2. consider raising a complaint if you don't get anywhere with the first approach - or feel that you have reached that point already - but don't wield the potential of a complaint as a threat as this will be counter-productive

3. if you seriously believe that the home is an "unsafe place of residence" think about whether you want your Dad to continue living there - I don't know whether your circumstances would make a move to a different home possible, or if that is what would be in his best interests

I hope that you find this helpful.

 

[jonno321]

I wouldn't hesitate to report to safeguarding and CQC. First try and jot down in bullet format, what specifically you are unhappy about. Try and give a brief example of each situation. It will help you understand and if you have clairty it will help Keep to facts. And try and write a short blog, diary or similar evey day or when things appear to be "off"

Hi, thanks for your response. Since we have encountered the various problems we have been keeping a note of the various incidents. It is interesting that a lot of the issues we have noted have also been noted by certain carers, who themselves have reported it to the manager, yet still nothing changes. Hence, I feel it is now time to take things further.

 

[jonno321]

That is a long list @jonno321. You may get better results by concentrating on the most serious issues first. Improper administration of drugs should be high on your list. Diet and nutrition are vitally important too. Whether there is capacity to move a resident who is disruptive, or if that would be in their best interests, I am not able to say. The potential for falls in any area is of concern. It is a value judgement as to whether staff '"who can't understand basic English" are "completely unsuitable". A lot of work with people with dementia is about feelings and tactile things, especially when the person themselves has lost the facility to understand what is said to them. This may not apply to your Dad but may do where others are concerned.

As to what to do, I would suggest:

1. continue to work with the care home management (at the highest level) by raising the things that you see as most important, seeking explanations and suggesting how improvements may be made

2. consider raising a complaint if you don't get anywhere with the first approach - or feel that you have reached that point already - but don't wield the potential of a complaint as a threat as this will be counter-productive

3. if you seriously believe that the home is an "unsafe place of residence" think about whether you want your Dad to continue living there - I don't know whether your circumstances would make a move to a different home possible, or if that is what would be in his best interests

I hope that you find this helpful.

Hi, thanks for your response.
We are going to have another meeting with the manager, but as these issues have been going on for such a long time now, we feel it is time to take things further. We have considered moving homes, but as you will know, a major move is not great for people with dementia and it would make visiting much more challenging. We feel that if the care home would actually respond to problems with solutions, things would be so much better for everyone.

 

[Moggymad]

Hi it sounds like some of the problems are with the manager themselves so I wonder if you should go above them to the area manager? Just for your information in my mums care home a member of staff "whistleblower" contacted the family of a particular resident about concerns with care & also social services. After an initial investigation by SS the CQC were called in who uncovered lots of issues around management, non compliance of various regulations & concerns over verbal communication & training of staff with poor english skills. As a result the home is in special measures, the manager resigned & the residents family removed their relative from the home. I am just saying all this so that you are aware it will likely have a big impact if you report your findings to the authorities but it will be in the best interests of everyone living there & may not have such serious consequences as ours did.

 

[Moggymad]

In my mums care home they relied on the agency to recruit & train.

 

[budda]

Hi , I had similar problems in my dads ‘care’ home recently. He was assaulted by a resident badly, twice and abused by two staff who were dismissed. We made official complaints to the home, we also contacted CQC , neither were much help. I think your Dad should have a social worker who oversees things somewhere . Contact your local social services and ask? Your issues can be reported and he will come under safe guarding . We also reported the issues to the local ombudsman. However unfortunately it all takes so long for any complaint to be acted on. Our complaint is still unresolved nearly a year on- but I am my fathers voice and will not give in. In the meantime I have moved him, this maybe your only solution for peace of mind . It was a difficult move to make but my father is in a much better place now, I wish I had done it sooner.

 

[jonno321]

Hi it sounds like some of the problems are with the manager themselves so I wonder if you should go above them to the area manager? Just for your information in my mums care home a member of staff "whistleblower" contacted the family of a particular resident about concerns with care & also social services. After an initial investigation by SS the CQC were called in who uncovered lots of issues around management, non compliance of various regulations & concerns over verbal communication & training of staff with poor english skills. As a result the home is in special measures, the manager resigned & the residents family removed their relative from the home. I am just saying all this so that you are aware it will likely have a big impact if you report your findings to the authorities but it will be in the best interests of everyone living there & may not have such serious consequences as ours did.

Hi, we are having another (third) meeting with the immediate manager, but we are also going to go down the other official routes as this has gone on too long now. Indeed, the process has already been started as a result of events yesterday, during which I received a phonecall from the safeguarding team asking my permission to report one particular carer (the same carer that I had previously complained to the care home about due to their dangerous practices) for their actions yesterday. We will see where all this leads.

 

[jonno321]

Hi it sounds like some of the problems are with the manager themselves so I wonder if you should go above them to the area manager? Just for your information in my mums care home a member of staff "whistleblower" contacted the family of a particular resident about concerns with care & also social services. After an initial investigation by SS the CQC were called in who uncovered lots of issues around management, non compliance of various regulations & concerns over verbal communication & training of staff with poor english skills. As a result the home is in special measures, the manager resigned & the residents family removed their relative from the home. I am just saying all this so that you are aware it will likely have a big impact if you report your findings to the authorities but it will be in the best interests of everyone living there & may not have such serious consequences as ours did.

Hi, we are going down the route of reporting to all available authorities, with the process being started automatically by the safeguarding team as a result of their experience with a member of staff yesterday. There are certain members of staff that we trust completely and have been open with us about the issues and the fact that they have also reported to the manager, but nothing gets done.

 

[jonno321]

In my mums care home they relied on the agency to recruit & train.

Hi, where ever these agency staff come from it needs to stop. They are there just to make up the numbers, but serve no actual real purpose as far as caring for the elderly go. It is shocking. The reason there have been so many agency staff, regardless of the quality of them, is that the turnover of the 'permanent' staff is rapid, which in itself is a worrying sign.

 

[jonno321]

Hi , I had similar problems in my dads ‘care’ home recently. He was assaulted by a resident badly, twice and abused by two staff who were dismissed. We made official complaints to the home, we also contacted CQC , neither were much help. I think your Dad should have a social worker who oversees things somewhere . Contact your local social services and ask? Your issues can be reported and he will come under safe guarding . We also reported the issues to the local ombudsman. However unfortunately it all takes so long for any complaint to be acted on. Our complaint is still unresolved nearly a year on- but I am my fathers voice and will not give in. In the meantime I have moved him, this maybe your only solution for peace of mind . It was a difficult move to make but my father is in a much better place now, I wish I had done it sooner.

Hi, as you say, if we the relatives don't do anything, our vulnerable mums, dads, etc. suffer. I dread to think what life is like for residents of care/nursing homes who don't have family members visiting on a regular basis. We are reporting to all authorities, with the safeguarding team already involved as of yesterday without us even contacting them!

 

[Moggymad]

Hi, where ever these agency staff come from it needs to stop. They are there just to make up the numbers, but serve no actual real purpose as far as caring for the elderly go. It is shocking. The reason there have been so many agency staff, regardless of the quality of them, is that the turnover of the 'permanent' staff is rapid, which in itself is a worrying sign.

You are spot on. Only tonight I was talking to one of the permanent care staff who is very disgruntled & intends to step down from being a senior carer because the agency staff do not pull their weight she said. They only want to do the 'nice' bits of caring & if anything is said they leave. She does not feel supported by the management & already several of the experienced care staff have left. We have a relatives meeting weds & if I can get a word in edge ways I intend to raise this issue as well as the fact that the staff are doing 14 hr shifts. In this environment where everybody has varying levels of dementia it is too long & in itself might be a safeguarding risk. None of this bodes well for us but I certainly hope your situation is better dealt with. Best wishes.

 

[jonno321]

You are spot on. Only tonight I was talking to one of the permanent care staff who is very disgruntled & intends to step down from being a senior carer because the agency staff do not pull their weight she said. They only want to do the 'nice' bits of caring & if anything is said they leave. She does not feel supported by the management & already several of the experienced care staff have left. We have a relatives meeting weds & if I can get a word in edge ways I intend to raise this issue as well as the fact that the staff are doing 14 hr shifts. In this environment where everybody has varying levels of dementia it is too long & in itself might be a safeguarding risk. None of this bodes well for us but I certainly hope your situation is better dealt with. Best wishes.

Hi, as it stands we are currently waiting for a phonecall back from the safeguarding team to discuss all the issues (in addition to the incident that happened at the weekend where they automatically became involved). I have even tried to speak to some of these agency staff to find out how they came to work in a dementia unit and what there training was, but they were unable to answer these basic questions.

 

[Moggymad]

It's dreadful @jonno321. Had our relatives meeting yesterday with the new manager who wanted to introduce herself as only been in post a week. She has a huge task on her hands but is very experienced & says she wanted a challenge lol!
Good luck with your complaints & keep posting on any developments.