Walsall care home placements suspended amid standards probe

Social care chiefs at Walsall Council suspended placements at Fernwood Court, in Bentley, when a complaint was made to them.

But Fernwood's owner, the health care operator, Four Seasons said none of the allegations have been substantiated and it was due to hold talks with the town hall over when normal services would resume.

There are currently 51 residents at the premises which can accommodate 59.

Walsall Council confirmed no new placements paid for by the authority were being made at the premises, in Wolverhampton Road West.

A statement said the council has suspended new placements funded by the council at Fernwood Court care home 'whilst investigations are underway regarding the quality of care'.

It adds: "The council is in contact with the managers at the home and the Care Quality Commission, the regulator of care.

"We have been clear with the home about the improvements that are required before we can lift the suspension and ensure that the existing residents receive a good quality of care."

A routine CQC inspection - not prompted by the complaint - on September 4 found residents were 'not being supported by staff in a safe manner' and that there were shortages due to workers' illness.

The report stated: "On arrival to the home we observed there were not enough staff to meet people's needs at breakfast time.

"We saw people being left for unacceptable periods of time with no staff to support them. We saw one member of staff trying to support people in the dining room and lounge area on their own. This meant that during breakfast times there was not enough staff to support people safely."

Agency staff not arriving on time to cover was given as one of the reasons.

However the report also found staff were caring and that action was already being taken to address the concerns.

It states: "The staff we spoke with all understood people's needs and knew how to meet them. Where people had specific needs, staff knew this, even where staff were just covering due to staff sickness."

In a statement Fernwood's owner, the health care operator, Four Seasons said: "When anonymous allegations were made about Fernwood Court, it was agreed with the local authority that while they were being investigated new referrals would be suspended. A thorough investigation has been completed and none of the allegations were substantiated. We will be meeting with the authority in the near future to discuss resumption of admissions.

"The CQC inspected the home in September and found that the staff were caring.

"The home was providing safe and appropriate care that was responsive and meeting the needs of people living there and supports their rights, people were treated with respect and involved in decisions about their care.

"On the day of the inspection the CQC had a moderate concern about staffing levels, as a result of some absence due to illness. However, the manager on duty had authority to call in agency staff had it been considered necessary.

"We have reinforced arrangements to ensure there are always sufficient staff numbers available with cover in the event of absences. The CQC found that staff are properly trained and supervised."

Fernwood, which offers dementia care, was among 140 sites that were taken over by Four Seasons Health Care three years ago after its previous operator Southern Cross collapsed debts of more than £5 billion.

In a statement the CQC said: "We found the home was not meeting the regulation relating to staffing at this time but was meeting the other four regulations we looked at during the inspection. The full details of our inspectors' findings have been published in a report on CQC's website.

"We have been working closely with Walsall Council with regard to the home. Meanwhile, we continue to monitor the home, which will include further inspections."