Residents moved out of 'inadequate' Stourbridge care home after damning report

Residential care home Breach House, which is run by Golden Age Care, can provide nursing care for up to 34 older people but at the time of inspection there were only 18 residents, who all have been moved now.

During last month's unannounced comprehensive inspection of the home on Holy Cross Lane, which was sparked by a tip-off regarding staffing, inspectors found a lack of provision for residents care needs and serious safeguarding issues after a resident was found with unexplained bruising.

Worcestershire County Council has moved everyone out to alternative services that meets their needs.

Amanda Lyndon, CQC head of inspection for adult social care, said: "When we inspected Breach House, we found a service that didn’t meet people's individual needs and preferences. The service wasn’t well-led and leaders failed to identify and act on risk to protect people from coming to harm.

"We were concerned that some people had damage to their skin and wounds from poorly managed care. Staff were unclear about what to look for in relation to monitoring this. Someone else needed thickened fluids due to a risk of choking. This wasn’t in their care plan or risk assessment so staff didn’t always provide this which could put them at serious risk."

She added: "Additionally, someone had unexplained bruising to their palm and wrist. The home had no record of this, and staff couldn’t explain how it happened or if it was being investigated. Also, there had been no referral to the adult safeguarding team until after our inspection. Another person told staff they required pain relief and had to wait four hours for it which is totally unacceptable."

“We have told the provider what improvements need to be made to address the concerns identified.”

A spokesperson for Worcestershire County Council said: "We have been liaising closely with residents’ families during this process and we have worked to ensure that residents have remained safe and received appropriate care to ensure their individual needs are met at all times,” added the spokesperson.

“We can now confirm that all council-funded residents have been moved out to new placements that continue to meet their individual needs.”

Golden Age Care promised to improve standards at the home and blamed the pandemic for causing several problems.

A spokesperson said: "Our top priority is to deliver high quality and person-centred care for each of our residents, and we take all feedback from the regulator seriously.

"We know that in this instance there are improvements which need to be made to ensure that residents receive the very highest levels of care which they expect and deserve.

“It has been incredibly challenging throughout the pandemic, but we are working exceptionally hard to make ongoing improvements at the home which includes replacing staff and management and are pleased that the report recognises that these have been incorporated as part of our ongoing action plan."