Your Experiences

Residents was being neglected mentally and emotionally, pads were not being changed, left in own urine and feces for long periods of time. They ran out of continent pads in the home, that left so many residents in appalling wet and soiled conditions, staff having to improvise and use conti wipes and towels as pads. Residents waiting far too long for the toilet sometimes hours. Residents who need turns weren’t being done and left longer than they should without turns. Staffing levels are appalling always short staffed so much so they offered staff time an a half if they picked up extra shifts and often units having to be left unattended whilst staff help on another unit as they’re short too. Management always said they weren’t short staffed but they were especially at weekends, night staff often only have 4-5 staff with some staff leaving at 6 and no one to cover until 7-8. Using the equipment was dangerous as rooms are too small and the wires get caught in the hoists and standaids which can cause the hoist to tip over if not careful, also the strain it causes on the staff members backs. Staff members doing continuous shifts way more than they should 18/24 hour shifts as their made to feel guilty if they refuse due to the lack of staff. They don’t cater for certain residents dietary needs ie vegetarian/ diets. Many don’t have any idea of catheter care and there was no training for it. The staff turnover was alarmingly high, the shadowing of new staff was appalling. So many left and some went off sick due to work stress. There was a lack of support from senior and management for both the residents and staff. Things got logged/reported and nothing ever got done. Members of staff wasn’t moving residents correctly and was actually drag lifting/ pulling. There was an alarming rate of falls due to lack of staff, some not even being reported. The general morale in the home was horrible, carers under so much pressure due to lack of staffing and having to work units on their own with no support, some even doing residents on their own even though they require two staff members. Communication was bad, often when staff came on shift they wasn’t given a handover, when carers report residents are not well nothing was done and they deteriorate before anything was done. The food was often frozen and not fresh, portions were often very small and units would run out of food so would have to ring other units to see if they had any left, tea time meals often consisted of sausage roll and a few beans, or something else along those lines. There was often alarming rates of loose bowels and not reported as it should. Care plans wasn’t up to date, pcs’s were being filled in even though the planned action hadn’t actually been done, but staff just wanted to get rid of the red flags due to fear of getting told off as the planned action is unachievable due to staffing levels. Many residents complained that there wasn’t enough staff, so the residents did notice it too. CQC should only do unannounced visit as when they know QCQ are coming they cover all of this up, pretend there’s more menu options than there actually is, tell staff to be on best behaviour, beg staff to come in on the day so it looks like the staffing levels are adequate