The manager of a care home has resigned and the council has stopped admitting elderly patients to the home until improvements are made in standards of care.
A source involved in the council investigation of Camberwell Green Care Home claimed concerns raised in early February included an incontinent resident left to lie in their own soiled bed sheets and residents waiting in the dining room for over an hour for to be served food.
The HC-One home was inspected 3 times last year by the Care Quality Commission who raised concerns about the standards of care due to low staffing levels.
An inspection in February 2013 revealed that one elderly woman was receiving personal care from a male staff member and some residents were kept waiting until noon to be dressed, after waking up at 8:15am.
Two further inspections in July and November showed marked improvements in staffing levels and standards of care but three weeks ago the manager resigned from his post as the council put an embargo on the home.
HC-One, who also run a home on Tower Bridge road, now have a new management team in place and are working with the council to improve conditions so that the embargo can be lifted.
Tom White, of Southwark Pensioners Action Group, helped to set up the scheme in 2007 whereby inspectors visit care homes unannounced to check the standards of care. White said, ‘We are confident that Southwark have the situation under control and residents are being well looked after’ and claimed the council had their own staff working in homes at the moment.
A spokesperson for HC-One said, ‘Following the inspections by the local authority three weeks ago, we were made aware of a number of areas that fell far short of the quality care our residents expect and deserve and we are truly sorry that this situation has arisen. As soon as we became aware of these issues, we acted immediately to address the concerns raised and a comprehensive improvement plan has been implemented.’ They stressed they were keen to return to the standards achieved at the last CQC inspection in November, but declined to comment on the specific concerns raised.
The spokesperson added, ‘We take these issues extremely seriously and we will not tolerate any behaviour by staff that is not of a high standard. We are carrying out an internal review to ensure we learn lessons from this situation.’
Councillor Catherine McDonald, cabinet member for adult social care, health and equalities said, ‘The council was made aware of concerns raised about Camberwell Green Care Home and did put a stop on placing new residents there until matters could be resolved. An action plan was put in place by the council and recent visits show that improvements are being made. We will continue to monitor the situation and act accordingly.’
