The CQC Find Bed Sore Concerns in a Tyneside Care Home

Most facilities that care for children, such as a school, or that look after the elderly as happens in a care home, are subject to inspections from time to time, whether the establishment operates under government management or is a private concern. There is usually a government watchdog in place which tries to oversee institutions that are given the responsibility of caring for vulnerable people.

Unfortunately, they are not always staffed well enough to be able to send out inspectors on a regular basis, so many places continue to operate without official checks. It’s only when someone raises a complaint about either insanitary conditions in a care home or abuse of a resident that the conditions prevailing in such establishments come to light. This happened recently in Tyneside at Stephenson Court, located in Forest Hall, where an incident was revealed indicating that a resident might have been inflicted with a serious injury.

This report led the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to send out an inspector to view the premises. The particular concern was that only 3 months previously the care home had come out tops in an inspection, but after an unannounced visit its services were considered to be inadequate. The biggest concern was not only the incident that brought about the surprise inspection visit, but what else was discovered. The CQC representative showed particular concern about how the skin of residents was being effectively managed and the incidence of pressure sores, also known as bed sores.

Any care home is expected to put the care of their residents first and that means employing enough staff to ensure measures are taken which prevent the incidence of pressure sores. There is no easy answer to the aging process but it’s expected that when elderly people are no longer able to care for themselves that there are care homes available to help them live out the remainder of their lives as safely and comfortably as possible. This doesn’t mean being alone and suffering from pressure sores. These potentially dangerous sores are easily prevented, but not so easily treated if they are allowed to develop. Staff should be available to ensure a resident who is unable to move about on his or her own is gently moved into a different position from time to time so that any pressure on a particular area of the body is prevented.

Many care centres in the U.K. are privately operated, some being part of big companies. Cutting costs in order to bring about higher returns is the aim of many businesses and care homes are no exception. If they are found not to be performing within set guidelines the license to run a care home could be withdrawn and if a resident or his or her family chooses they may have the right to file a personal injury claim against the care home if mistreatment leading to injury takes place. This includes preventable bed sores. So far, the managers of the home in question have resigned, but this doesn’t eliminate the fact that residents have had to suffer from preventable bed sores because of negligence on behalf of the home.