Carer ate lunch next to dying resident due to staff shortages

Staff were so overstretched at a Bristol care home that a carer had to eat lunch next to a dying resident, the CQC has revealed.

The CQC’s inspection report on Haven Lodge Care Centre paints a disturbing picture of a stressed workforce with members of staff leaving in tears and struggling to sleep at night.

One member of staff told inspectors: “I’ve had to eat my lunch sitting with someone who was dying because there wasn’t anyone to relieve me.”

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Other staff comments included: “Sometimes, I’ve left here in tears” and “I find it hard to sleep at night. I worry so much about this place.”

Feedback about senior management was also poor with comments including: “[The provider] is very rude to staff, brutal. [They] come here, stir the pot and then leave” and “[The provider] is no support to me.”

Residents were equally damning about the quality of activities provided by the service with comments including: “It is the same thing every day really, sometimes we play skittles and bingo. Someone came in with a dog once, though it was a while ago I might have dreamt it;” and “I am so bored, I have decided to eat these crisps to pass the time of day. Nothing much ever happens here, but it is to be expected at my age.”

Samuel Maierovits, Managing Director of Hudson Healthcare, told Bristol Live: “The CQC report makes for disappointing reading and we accept that the findings are simply not good enough, which is why we are already taking steps to address the matters raised.

“In the period since the inspection, we have eliminated our reliance on agency care staff, and reduced our use of agency nursing staff in order to improve the consistency and quality of care, and closed an underperforming unit so that the needs of all our residents can be more effectively met by one team in a single unit.

“Despite these steps and the sustained investment we have made over time to try and improve staffing, training and facilities at the home, we have continued to face significant challenges around the recruitment and retention of trained staff, in common with the wider social care sector in general and the local area in particular, and it is clear that there is still a need for further action to ensure that we are consistently delivering the high standards of care that our residents expect and deserve.

“This why we will be working closely with the CQC over the coming weeks to discuss the best way forward and ensure we have a sustainable structure in place that safeguards the wellbeing and care of residents and ensures the future of the home.”