A CQC Report Has Revealed Serious Concerns Over a London Nursing Home

A report released by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has unearthed some serious concerns about the level of service that is being provided at a London nursing home.

The Links, which is located in the Northolt area of the city, was identified as providing a substandard quality of care across a number of criteria. In fact, out of six wider parameters on which is was assessed, the home was only adjudged to be meeting standards in two areas.

In terms of meeting the nutritional needs of patients and providing a safe and suitable premises, The Links was found to be operating at the required level. However, other essential functions of the facility were condemned as needing significant action to improve them.

One of these included the care and welfare of people who use the services. The (CQC) report claimed that some patient care files were "relevant to the person's stay on an inpatient ward only".

In addition, inspectors ruled that the nursing home had developed and implemented its own system for storing and processing care files and other information, but that this was not being carried out correctly, with some documents incomplete or only containing a brief overview of the care that certain patients require.

Perhaps even more worrying, is that The Links was also found to be failing to provide appropriate protection for its patients against potential cases of abuse - a factor that is likely to be taken extremely seriously, given the recent cases of abuse and neglect that have littered latest reports on the industry.

Other areas that have been earmarked for immediate attention are meeting the requirements of workers and maintaining records correctly.

In terms of the personnel working at the home, it was found that in some cases, the proper recruitment checks were not being carried out before staff started work, meaning there was a risk of unqualified individuals working with patients that have serious medical conditions.

Expert Opinion

All care homes need to ensure they are providing a high standard of support for such vulnerable individuals on a daily basis. Some of the problems identified by the CQC, such as record keeping and checks during recruitment, are basic procedures that simply must be followed and can have major consequences if not done appropriately. <br/> <br/>“Patient safety needs to be the number one priority of all those involved in healthcare and vulnerable nursing home patients must be protected from avoidable illness, injury and abuse.” Julie Lewis - Partner