Archived: Summerfield Care Home

42-43 Wellington Road, Dudley, West Midlands, DY1 1RD (01384) 239331

Provided and run by:
Merron Care Ltd

All Inspections

3 May 2012

During an inspection in response to concerns

We visited Summerfield Care Home on 3 May 2012, 10 May 2012 and 14 May 2012 following ongoing concerns about the care that was being provided to people who were living there.

We found that although some improvements had been made, such as purchasing new weighing scales and fortifying food there was still cause for concern. We have looked at the records of people's weight at each visit and again found that the records of their weight were inaccurate and that one person had lost a further large amount of weight. We saw that the arrangements for supporting people with their meals were not sufficient to ensure they received an adequate diet or fluids to protect them against the risks of inadequate nutrition or dehydration.

We also found that risks to people's health were not adequately addressed such as the management of epilepsy, and people continued to be at avoidable risk of pressure sores. We found people were at risk of unsafe and inappropriate care because of lack of information about changing needs, and lack of skill and equipment to safely move people.

We again found during this review that some people had unexplained injuries and that no investigation had been undertaken into the cause of the injuries. People were at risk of harm as there was not a system in place to identify and report suspected or actual abuse when needed.

We had been told of the provider's plans to replace furniture and furnishings to ensure the home is a comfortable and safe place to live. We saw during our visit of 3 May 2012 that although new beds, bed linen and towels had been purchased, people were still waiting for their bed linen to be changed.

There remained ongoing concern about the lack of sufficient hot water in people's rooms. There were a range of outstanding maintenance issues such as leaks to the roof which dated back for over a year, holes in flooring, poor condition of carpets, no working disinfector, and the new washing machine had not arrived. We found there was no ongoing monitoring and review taking place to ensure that the premises was satisfactorily maintained and risks to safety identified and managed.

We identified that there was a lack of suitable equipment being available to assist people. We have not been told of

the provider's plans to replace furniture and furnishings to ensure the home is a comfortable and safe place to live.

We saw that staffing levels had been increased since our previous visits in April 2012.

The provider had also agreed to Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council staff working in the service during the time the people with the most complex needs are assessed and moved to other placements. During our visits in May 2012 Summerfield had additional management, care and domestic staff from the local authority. However we found that the number and skills of staff were still not sufficient to effectively and consistently meet people's needs.

We found that a continued lack of appropriate systems to assess and monitor the quality of the service had resulted in the failure to protect people from the risks of inappropriate or unsafe care.

Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council has stopped funding for any new person who wished to live at Summerfield Care Home.

This report also followed up concerns identified on 5 and 23 April 2012 and the reader should also refer to these reports for further information.

23 April 2012

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We visited Summerfield Care Home on 23 April 2012 to see if required improvements had been made following our visit on 5 April 2012. We found that although some improvements had been made, they were not sufficient to give us assurance that the risks to people had been minimised.

We found that people were not receiving the care they needed. Care records failed to provide adequate instructions for staff on the care that people needed. We found that risks to people's health continued not to be adequately addressed and that people continued to be at avoidable risk of pressure sores and weight loss.

The home has recently had the support from a management consultant to identify and address shortfalls in the service and care provided to people living at Summerfield Care Home. It was positive that some essential items have been purchased following the appointment of the management consultant. It was disappointing that although areas of urgent concern were shared with the home management on 5 April 2012, they had failed to adequately address them.

We had previously found that there were insufficient staff to meet people's needs. A lack of ancillary staff meant that care staff undertook laundry and kitchen duties which further depleted staff available to provide direct care to people living in the home. It was positive that staffing levels had been increased and that additional ancillary staff were being recruited.

We highlighted during our previous review of the service that the provider had failed to take the necessary actions to minimise the risk of abuse or neglect. During this review of the service we again found required actions had not been taken and as a result this people had continued to be at risk of harm.

New beds, bed linen and towels had been purchased since our last visit to the home, but the condition of other furniture and furnishings remained poor. We have not been told of the provider's plans to replace furniture and furnishings to ensure the home is a comfortable and safe place to live.

We found that when risks were identified the provider had failed to take appropriate steps to address the shortfalls or to put required actions in place to minimise risks to people's health and wellbeing.

5 April 2012

During an inspection in response to concerns

We visited Summerfield Care Home because we received information of concern about the lack of cleanliness of the home and that inadequate care was been given to people living there.

We found that people were not receiving the care they needed. We found that risks to people's health were not adequately addressed and that people were at avoidable risk of pressure sores and weight loss.

We saw that staff were caring but they lacked leadership and experienced/senior staff failed to support inexperienced staff. Care staff were distracted from providing care to people because they also had to undertake laundry duties and help prepare the tea time meal. People did not receive the care they needed because of a lack of suitably qualified care staff and domestic staff.

The provider have failed to take the necessary actions to minimise the risk of abuse or neglect. A failure to undertake required actions has resulted in people being at increased risk of abuse or neglect.

The provider had not maintained the furnishings and equipment to an acceptable standard. We found that furniture and furnishings were worn and required repair or replacement. Bed linen was transparent and required urgent replacement.The home was not clean and people were at increased risk of cross infection.

We found that the service lacks adequate management and leadership. We saw that when risks were identified the provider had failed to take appropriate steps to address the shortfalls or to put required actions in place to minimise risks to people's health and wellbeing.

26 May 2011

During a routine inspection

People told us that the home had a happy atmosphere. Six people and two relatives said that that staff were 'kind and helpful.' People said they had enough to do during the day. They said that staff met their needs and requests and that they would feel comfortable talking to the manager or seniors if they had any concerns.

We observed six people in the Daily unit lounge to help us understand what it is like to live there. This involved people who could not tell us about their experiences of living at the home. We saw that people have individual routines, and made choices about food and medication which were respected. We saw that staff talked to people in a respectful way, encouraged their independence and helped discreetly with personal care.

Relatives said that they had more contact from the home over the past three months so that they knew what was happening to their relative.