Lack of staff compromised people’s safety at Four Seasons care home

A lack of adequate staff numbers compromised people’s safety at a Four Seasons care home.

Priory Park Care Home in Preston was rated Inadequate and placed in Special Measures following an inspection in October and November.

While people at the service said they felt safe and staff were “kind and caring”, the CQC said its observations showed they did not always receive safe care and treatment.

The CQC added: “Practices in the home did not always demonstrate that staff understood how to safeguard people from neglect and abuse. People’s safety had been compromised due to lack of adequate numbers of staff to support them with their care needs.

“We found a significant number of incidents of people being left unsupervised and causing harm to each other. Risks to receiving care were poorly managed and planned for. People were not always offered their medicines in a safe manner and medicines administration practice exposed them to risks.”

The CQC added people were not always monitored following a fall or incident. The regulator noted that the provider had not adequately analysed accidents or incidents to reduce the risk of re-occurrence.

While observing “positive and warm interactions” during the inspection, the CQC said people’s dignity had been affected by staff shortages.

A spokesperson from Four Seasons Health Care said: “We deeply regret that this home has fallen below the standards that we expect and that the Care Quality Commission requires. We are committed to ensuring that we quickly, thoroughly and appropriately address the issues raised and will work with the Care Quality Commission and local authorities to ensure they are fully aware of all the measures taken through our comprehensive improvement plan.

“The managing director is working closely with the home manager and colleagues at Priory Park to improve the quality and experience of care, and the home is being supported by experienced clinical care experts. The safety and wellbeing of our residents is our number one priority and we apologise to the residents affected.”