A damning report on a Weymouth nursing home that was subsequently shut down has been published.

Avon Lea Nursing Home was rated ‘inadequate’ in an unannounced inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in October, with the findings now in the public domain.

The nursing home, run by Avon Lea Weymouth 2015 Limited, was put into special measures in May 2017. At a follow-up visit in October, inspectors became concerned about the safety of people living in the home and before the conclusion of the visit, Dorset County Council took the decision to stop funding at the care home. 

The council worked to find people new homes and everyone moved out by October 27 2017. 

Inspectors found that there were continued incidences of people not having access to call bells - a total of eight out of the 23 people living at the home did not have access to their call bells. One person had slipped in their bed and was unable to reach for any assistance.

Another person did not have access to their call bell and was not checked for three and a half hours.

There were also continued shortfalls in skin care management and recording of medicines was also incomplete and did not support safe administration.

A number of people at the home had fallen from their wheelchairs as they were left unsupervised and inspectors observed people unable to get staff attention as they did not have a means of calling them. 

The report further highlighted that people were not protected adequately from the risk of infection. 

It read: "The sluice door on the first floor remained open on two days of our inspection. The bin inside was overfull with soiled pads and the corridor smelled strongly. There were two clinical waste bags containing used pads left in the ground floor corridor. The unlocked doors and clinical waste being left in accessible areas put people at risk of harm."

On their visit inspectors received information of concern detailing that some bedrooms did not have hot water. On checking the water temperature in eight people's rooms, they found five did not have hot water.

Inspectors also found that people were not supported in a way that promoted their dignity and privacy. 

The report read: "People had not had their hair washed and were seen to be wearing dirty clothes. Community matrons reported that one person was wearing urine soaked trousers over a clean pad."

Inspectors also discovered that requests by health professionals were not always followed. One health professional had required a blood test in August 2017. This had been delayed by nine days and when tested had resulted in the person being admitted to hospital. 

Records indicated that staff had undertaken training deemed mandatory by the providers however this was said not evident in their skills and knowledge. 

But inspectors said that care staff were kind, patient and friendly throughout and staff were noted being engaged in kind, familiar and supportive interactions and that people had described them as "good as gold".

Dorset Echo:

Council’s improvement plan ‘not carried out’

Cllr Jill Haynes, cabinet member for health and care at Dorset County Council said: “Following a number of concerns being raised at Avon Lea care home and the subsequent ‘inadequate’ CQC rating, an action plan for improvements was set out, agreed and monitored.

"However, the provider did not successfully make all the improvements required. The county council therefore made the difficult decision to cease contracting with the home. 

“Dorset County Council continued to work with the provider and lead statutory agencies to support the home to ensure residents were safe and properly cared for. We supported residents and families, whether in receipt of funded nursing care or privately funded, to identify where their needs could be best met, which included seeking alternative accommodation.”