Residents left unwashed and in filthy clothes at stinking nursing home

Residents in a care home were left in soiled clothing and treated unkindly by staff a health watchdog report has revealed.

Men and women at Parkhill Nursing home in Stalybridge were not washed and treated in an 'undignified and degrading' manner, a report by the Care Quality Commission (QCQ) revealed.

Now the home, described as 'foul-smelling' has been placed in special measures and rated 'inadequate'.

The inspection also revealed 'insufficient staffing levels of appropriately trained and skilled staff and a lack of robust and safe recruitment'. 

Shortages and lack of proper training also put residents' safety at risk.

The report said: "Due to staff shortages and the high use of agency and it was evident that risk was not being well managed.

"Permanent staff felt that concerns were being addressed but recognised improvements were needed. Leaders were aware of shortfalls in identifying and responding to people’s needs and were working with stakeholders to address these concerns.

"There was a lack of oversight for the safe management of people’s changing needs."

One resident said they were 'unable to relax' after other residents tried to get into his room at night.

They said: "It’s the third time this has happened now. It must be recorded somewhere because I keep telling staff. I can’t relax.”

During the assessment the inspection team 'observed multiple occasions where people not treated kindly as adults, given choice and were left in undignified and degrading positions including the lack of access to continence support and including being placed at risk through unsafe moving and handling'. 

They also discovered areas of the home were in disrepair and that the home smelt 'very strongly unpleasant'.

Residents were also unable to go outside to the patio due to unsafe railings.

One staff member told the team: “The home has gone downhill.”

Areas of the home were so cluttered, they represented a risk to residents and many of the bedrooms 'had strong malodours even after they had been cleaned'.

Employees, residents and families agreed staffing levels at the home contributed to many of the problems.

The inspection team reported: "There was not enough staff available to meet people’s needs, and there were delays in people accessing care needed such as with their continence needs. Pressure relief was not always being given as directed.

"There was a high use of agency staff and feedback from people and families was that this was where the primary shortfalls originated."

One resident told them: “The staff are not really interested. They should really go round the patients, and they don’t.

"There’s a lot of agency staff and they just stand about. They never get involved with the patients.

Half of them need waking up.”

A family member added: “I think they are short-staffed but they do their best. I think they’ve been interviewing for staff.”

The CQC also observed that many residents were ignored by staff.

The report said: "We observed staff did not have sufficient knowledge of people, understand their needs, and were not able to effectively communicate with people.

"Although some staff spoke kindly to people, this was in contrast to staff who did not interact or show any interest in people. We observed multiple examples of poor staff practice.

Most shocking of all, were the hygiene standards with many residents left unwashed and wearing dirty clothes.

The inspection team reported: "People were not being offered the opportunity to maintain good personal hygiene and oral care and people were not always dressed in clean clothing. People and families commented the home was generally clean but areas were in need of redecorating.

"One staff member commented that it was difficult to get on top of some areas of the cleaning, Some staff felt that not all staff employed had a good understanding of infection prevention and control.

"During our site visit we observed people were not washed, their nails and hair were not always clean and clothes were often dirty. People were left in continence aids for long periods of time and personal care before meals times was not always promoted."

Alison Chilton, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said: "When we inspected Parkhill Nursing Home, we were concerned to find ineffective leadership and a shortage of experienced, permanent staff, having a serious impact on all areas of people's care. Residents also told us that staffing levels and high agency usage made them feel unsafe and that there was no consistency in their care.

"The home smelled unpleasant, in part because staff weren't always able to support people with their personal hygiene as their time was so stretched. Staff also left people in continence aids for a long time and couldn't support them with personal care, or with brushing their teeth for the same reasons.

"Staff didn't always treat people kindly or with compassion. We saw some people who chose to stay in their room or were cared for in bed didn't have the same level of interaction with staff, or access to food, drink, and activities, as other residents.

"We also saw that staff didn't always ask people for consent when providing support, or involve people and their families in decisions about their care. Leaders need to make sure there are enough staff on duty to provide people with person-centred, dignified care.

"People experienced avoidable harm because staff didn't understand their responsibilities to protect people from the risk of abuse, including working with external healthcare professionals. Three people told us that they didn't feel safe living at the home and had concerns that someone was entering their room at night. We raised several safeguarding concerns to the local authority safeguarding team following our inspection.

"We have told Parkhill Nursing Home where we expect to see rapid and widespread improvements and will continue to monitor them closely to keep people safe while this happens. We won't hesitate to use our regulatory powers further if people are not receiving the care they have a right to expect."