Watchdog puts "unsafe" Cornwall care homes in special measures

Elderly people have been living in “grim, shoddy and unsafe” conditions in four care homes run by a private company in Cornwall, the health and social care watchdog has found.

Residents of the Morleigh Group homes lay in urine-soaked bedclothes, sat in chairs for hours with plates of unfinished food in front of them and waited weeks to receive medical attention, the Care Quality Commission said.

Publishing reports on the four homes on Friday, the CQC said all the homes had been rated inadequate and placed into special measures after separate inspections.

Andrea Sutcliffe, the chief inspector of adult social care, said:“These reports make horrifying reading – people in distress being ignored by staff; a person lying in a urine-soaked bed for two hours; people sat in the same chair all day with uneaten meals in front of them, and no help to eat or drink; someone needing medical attention waiting weeks to be referred to their GP.

“These and so many other examples show why we have rated each of these homes as inadequate and are taking further action to protect the safety and welfare of the people living there.”

Clinton House nursing home, in St Austell, closed earlier this month after an undercover investigation by BBC’s Panorama.

The CQC reports concluded:

• At Clinton House, there were not always enough staff on duty. Inspectors noticed one person in distress and crying for 90 minutes while staff walked by three times without speaking to the person to find out if they needed anything or to comfort them. The management of medicines was not robust. One person had not been given one of their prescribed medicines for three days. Inspectors had to intervene when one person – who had previously been assessed as being at risk of falls – was left unattended and nearly fell out of their wheelchair.


• At Elmsleigh care home, in Par, inspectors found one person who suffered from incontinence and was at risk of pressure sores, but was not routinely turned or checked by staff. Records showed that for several days the person often received no personal care – exposing them to the risk of urine burns to their skin. People sitting in the same seat all day, with their meals left in front of them uneaten, even though most needed encouragement to eat. Some appeared not to realise it was mealtime. Some people had sustained substantial weight loss but it was not clear what action had been taken to help them maintain a healthy weight.


• At Collamere nursing home, in Lostwithiel, inspectors witnessed people with dementia calling out repeatedly for some time with no response. One person shouted throughout the day and night. It was only after the inspection that their GP was asked to review their pain relief – and then they appeared to sleep without signs of distress.


• At St Theresa’s nursing home, in Callington, inspectors identified one person who had pressure sores, but had not been repositioned for eight hours. There had been a delay of five days in seeking appropriate specialist advice. Medicines were not being managed safely, the premises and equipment were not being maintained, and the collection of soiled laundry from bedrooms and cleaning procedures did not ensure suitable standards of cleanliness.

Sutcliffe added: “These services were providing grim, shoddy and unsafe care – the sort that no one should ever have to put up with. I am sorry that people have had to endure this poor level of care.”

The CQC said the Morleigh Group, which is family owned, had been supported by Cornwall council and the NHS Kernow clinical commissioning group to make improvements. But it said the company had failed to listen.

CQC inspectors visited Collamere on 10 October in response to concerns about the service. They visited Elmsleigh on 25 October to follow up on improvements required by a previous inspection. Planned inspections of Clinton House and St Theresa’s were brought forward following information received from Panorama.

The BBBC investigation included undercover filming showing one nurse threatening to give morphine to a resident “to shut her up”.

Panorama

Watchdog puts "unsafe" Cornwall care homes in special measures

Shocking neglect uncovered at two care homes in Cornwall

An undercover investigation has exposed shocking levels of neglect at two care homes in Cornwall.

Hidden camera footage filmed by BBC Panorama reporters recorded vulnerable people left unattended, including one left on a bed pan for 40 minutes, an out-of-date prescription supplement relabelled for use by another resident, and the threat of morphine being used to silence a resident.

One of the homes, Clinton House in St Austell, is closing down as a result of safety concerns and the other, St Theresa’s, in Callington near Plymouth, has been placed under investigation by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and Cornwall council.

Two other nursing homes with the same owners – Morleigh Group – as those featured in Monday’s edition of Panorama are also being investigated.

The four care homes under scrutiny had all previously been rated as “requires improvement” by the CQC, which said it had had “serious concerns with the Morleigh Group for some time”.

The reporter Janice Finch booked into St Theresa’s and Clinton House posing as a resident. She witnessed staff rushed off their feet, compromising the privacy and dignity of some fellow residents. She paid £750 a week for a room where the bin was not emptied, the soap dispenser had no soap and the toilet seat was broken.

Another reporter worked as a care assistant at Clinton House, doing 14 shifts without her references being taken up or a criminal records check being completed.

Secret footage showed a nurse announcing her intention to give morphine to a resident “to shut her up”.

It also showed an elderly resident with severe dementia in a bed with a loose safety rail. The undercover reporter, worried that the resident might hurt herself, was advised to hold the rail in place with her foot.

The resident had a wound on her leg, and staff did not know how she had come by it even though she was supposed to be receiving 24-hour one-to-one care.

Trevor Doughty, Cornwall council’s strategic director for children, families and adults, said: “The health, wellbeing and dignity of residents absolutely comes first; we are shocked and saddened at the incidents reported by Panorama, and are very sorry that this has happened in these privately run homes. On behalf of everybody who dedicates their careers to keeping people safe, and seeing them treated with dignity and respect, I am sorry for what has happened in these homes.”

Andrea Sutcliffe, chief inspector of adult social care at the CQC, said the regulator had brought forward its inspections of Clinton House and St Theresa’s after Panorama had shared its concerns about the homes.

“We are taking tough action against the Morleigh Group to protect the people living in four of its nursing homes in Cornwall,” she said. “This follows a significant deterioration in the quality of care it has been providing as uncovered through our most recent inspections.”

The other two Morleigh Group homes under investigation are Elmsleigh in Par and Collamere in Lostwithiel.

Moreleigh Group said in a statement that investigations carried out prior to the receipt of information from Panorama had “resulted in the removal of the staff involved, together with a thorough review of our systems and procedures”.

Panorama: Nursing Homes Undercover will be broadcast on BBC1 on Monday 21 November at 8.30pm

Shocking neglect uncovered at two care homes in Cornwall

Duchess of Cornwall turns into patron of pioneering charity which employs canines to help diagnose cancer

“I was expecting a clinical trial. It brought a lump to my throat and a tear to my eye, how numerous lives this could save.”

Dr Claire Guest, chief executive of Health care Detection Dogs, explained it was only fairly not too long ago that the scientific planet had pursued the potential of dogs to sniff out illnesses.

The work of the charity is now endorsed by big cancer charities this kind of as Cancer Investigation Uk.

She advised the guests invited to the demonstration: “How we missed for so numerous centuries that canines could detect illnesses in this way is maybe impressive, but maybe we weren’t watching our canines cautiously sufficient.”

Her interest in the topic sprang from a buddy who in the early 1980s went to see her GP to have a mole on her calf examined only after her dog persistently sniffed the difficulty region which was diagnosed as skin cancer.

^{Prince Charles, (R) and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are pictured in the course of a demonstration by Healthcare Detection Dogs (MDD) (Chris Jackson/ Getty)}

Dr Guest’s very own dog Daisy, one particular of the Labradors utilised in the demonstration, alerted her to a lump in her breast which proved to be cancer.

Her charity not only trains lab primarily based canines to analyse samples from sufferers suspected of getting the early stages of bladder or prostate cancer but also has all around 50 health-related support dogs, with the vast majority assisting their owners to manage their diabetes by warning them if their blood-sugar levels are also large or lower.

She stated: “The ability of canines to help with folks who are suffering from existence threatening problems is incredible.

“These canines are not only transforming people’s lives but maintaining them safe, retaining them out of the hospital and dare I say it, saving the NHS a lot of income.

“The dogs are skilled to detect the odour change, this biochemical adjust, that happens in our bodies with any condition or condition and the dogs are taught when you smell this on your proprietor warn them rapidly.”

Charles and Camilla met six-12 months-outdated Cerys Davies and her mother, Debbie, from Baldock in Hertfordshire, who have Wendy, a black Labrador who helps the youngster deal with her aggressive Variety 1 diabetes.

Mrs Davies mentioned she and her husband would mount vigils during the night, performing blood tests to make confident their daughter did not slip into a coma.

But now the dog will wake them if there is a dilemma and carry over Cerys’s healthcare kit.

Mrs Davies stated: “We have had Wendy four months and the adjust has been extraordinary. She wouldn’t depart my side prior to but now Cerys is happier and more healthy.

“Wendy alerts us about 5 to eight occasions a day and she did it the 1st night we had her, which we in no way expected.”

Duchess of Cornwall turns into patron of pioneering charity which employs canines to help diagnose cancer

Duchess of Cornwall supports efforts to end female genital mutilation

Natascha McElhone speaks with the Duchess of Cornwall during a reception for the Females of the World festival. Photograph: Paul Grover/PA

The Duchess of Cornwall has provided her backing to efforts to stamp out female genital mutilation, according to a leading campaigner.

The co-founder of the anti-FGM charity founder Daughters of Eve, Nimco Ali, mentioned that the duchess gave the “royal seal of approval” throughout a reception for the Southbank Centre’s Girls of the Planet festival, which starts on March five.

Ali was joined on Thursday by far more than 60 females concerned in the festival like the economist Vicky Pryce, the Each day Sexism Task founder, Laura Bates, and actress Natascha McElhone at the Clarence Property reception.

Ali said: “Camilla mentioned she thinks the campaign is terrific and she heard about the things we’re carrying out. She mentioned she was impressed with the operate and wanted a lot more info about the campaign.

“I want to build the momentum. We’re commencing a conversation and we’re breaking the cycle. My ultimate aim is that by the time my niece is eight – she’s 3 now – there will not be a threat of FGM. I want to break that cycle and for her to say later: ‘You had to in fact do that [fight towards FGM]?’ She’s the initial man or woman not to be reduce in the household.”

Earlier this week the training secretary, Michael Gove, agreed to write to all colleges in England about FGM, following a Guardian-backed petition urging the training secretary to consider action attracted practically 250,000 signatures.

Ali will be at the Females of the Globe festival on 9 March speaking about how to end FGM. She will be joined by Lynne Featherstone MP as well as Efua Dorkenoo who is major the Finish FGM/Cutting Social Modify programme supported by the Division for Worldwide Improvement.

As nicely as Ali, the Duchess spoke to McElhone who will be performing a paper review at the festival with the Liberty director, Shami Chakrabarti, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence. McElhone stated the festival was crucial “because it truly is to pull back assumptions we dwell by and never agree with [but] aren’t mindful we have internalised”.

The reception on Thursday launched the festival, which is now in its fourth yr. Camilla spoke to the visitors like three youngsters from Mulberry College for Girls in Tower Hamlets, east London, which she visited last yr. Samihah Yasmin, 15, Jamila Ahmed, 14, and Nazifa Kamali, 15, proudly said they had been feminists and looking forward to Malala Yousafzai’s speak on March 8 which their school obtained forty tickets for.

The reception concluded with a speech by Jude Kelly,the artistic director of the Southbank Centre, who thanked everyone for coming and for the Duchess’s assistance. Kelly praised the duchess for her interest in the anti-FGM campaign. “For me the Duchess has courage and it is very normal. She’s not afraid to speak about justice. She believes the monarchy is there to produce progress and she’s prepared to carry topics to the fore,” Kelly explained.

The duchess’ assistance comes following the Equality and Human Rights Commission wrote to Norman Baker on Thursday, the minister accountable for the Government’s method to fight FGM. In the letter to the minister, the EHRC expressed concern that the £100,000 fund recognized for charities to increase awareness and educate the public about FGM is inadequate.

Lady O’Neill of Bengarve, the chair of the EHRC, explained: “Although the government’s commitment [to finish FGM] is welcome, we want a correctly implemented and enforced nationwide method, appropriately funded, and which brings collectively all the proper authorities across the United kingdom if we are to efficiently tackle this human rights violation.”

Duchess of Cornwall supports efforts to end female genital mutilation