Walsall care home put in special measures

Mill Lodge Care Home, in Pelsall, was rated 'inadequate' by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors who found people were put at risk of harm.

If bosses now fail to carry out improvements, the Mill Road care home may face being closed down.

Criticisms included people not always receiving their medicines safely and as prescribed.

A published report, following a three-day inspection, said: "We found that one person had missed a blood thinning medicine for one week and medical intervention had not been sought to ensure that this person was protected from harm.

"We found that the blood tests this person was due to have in April to determine how much medicine they needed were overdue."

Medicines were not stored securely and prescribed medicines were discovered unattended in a communal bathroom area, inspectors revealed.

The report said staff were not always given access to 'effective' training and they were not given the skills needed to support people effectively.

Not all staff had completed training in important areas such as dementia and nutrition.

Recruitment concerns were also highlighted by the health inspectors.

"People were not protected from potential harm due to the provider not following safe recruitment practices and the provider and staff had an inadequate knowledge of safeguarding practices," the report said.

"There were not always enough staff members available to support people in a timely manner."

The safety, effectiveness and management of the care home was rated as inadequate following the inspection in June.

Meanwhile, inspectors deemed improvements were needed to provide a caring and responsive service.

An acting manager had been in place at the time of the inspection but there had been no registered manager since January, which had breached registration conditions with the CQC, according to the report.

It said: "The overall rating for this provider is inadequate. This means that it has been placed into special measures by CQC."

Yesterday, the home said it had been revisited by the CQC.

David Bailey, Responsible Person at the home, said: "We were disappointed with the outcome of the inspection by CQC in June as we do not believe that it reflects the care and commitment of the staff who care for the people living at Mill Lodge.

"The report currently in circulation is now out of date - CQC visited in September to carry out a re-inspection of our service which went very positively. Whilst their findings have yet to be published, we are confident that the new report will reflect the high quality of care that we deliver at Mill Lodge. "

The residential home accommodates up to 20 older people requiring personal care.

The owner of the care home refused to comment.