Report criticises £11m care village
Peaker Park Care Village, off Rockingham Road
A NEW £11m care home has been told it must improve following a report highlighting a catalogue of failings in the way it is run.
The report into Harborough’s Peaker Park Care Village, published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), is critical of staffing levels, supervision and training as well as the keeping of vital medication records.
The £11m, 137-bed Rockingham Road complex run by PrimeLife was opened to great fanfare in June last year, with 250 guests invited to a grand opening featuring stilt-walkers and fire-eaters.
But the CQC report, which the care watchdog says was carried out following a number of complaints about the home, found failings in nine areas of standards of quality and safety, including staffing, care and welfare of residents and the management of medicines.
Five of those failings were judged by the CQC to be ‘moderate’, which the watchdog explains as meaning they had, or risked having, a ‘significant effect’ on the health and welfare of residents.
The remaining four were classified as minor, meaning there was an impact – or risk of an impact – on health and welfare, but that it was not classed as significant.
Three people who had relatives at Peaker Park told the Mail how the report backs up their own concerns.
One, Lucia De Vido, moved her 92-year-old father Dante De Vido out of the home due to her serious concerns over the care he was receiving.
Mrs De Vido, who complained to the Local Government Ombudsman about the home, said: “Dad’s carers were very kind but there weren’t enough of them. I’d visit Dad every day and look for staff but there were none to be found. I’m really pleased that attention is being drawn to this issue by the publication of the report.”
Tess Wilford’s 95-year-old grandmother Muriel Haddon lived at Peaker Park from July last year until her death on March 8.
Mrs Wilford, of Northleigh Grove, Harborough, had also expressed major concerns about the way the home was being run.
She told the Mail: “It’s a beautiful place to look at, and if it was staffed properly there would be no problems.”
Francis Barnett, of Welland Park Road, removed her parents Eileen and Frank Vaughan from the home in April after a six-month stay.
She said: “The findings of the report were no surprise to me and I was pleased to see it published. It’s easy to look at the place and think it’s really good, but it’s only when you scratch the surface you see the problems.”
The CQC says 40 concerns were raised about the home between October 2011 and March this year by a range of different people, including visiting professionals. Five were substantiated following an investigation, while nine were partially substantiated. A further 26 were unsubstantiated, the report states.
The report, published following an inspection on May 16, says staff were seen talking with residents in a ‘caring respectful and sensitive manner’.
However it reveals that three of the six workers spoken to by inspectors raised concerns over staffing numbers.
It details how one resident endured a 25-minute wait for assistance getting to the bathroom, as well as some workers’ concerns over the level of supervision they received.
Care records showed one resident had assaulted others in the home, but no information was available to show action had been taken to prevent it happening again,
The report lists 27 areas where standards are not being met and has given PrimeLife 14 days to say how it will put them right. The CQC warned PrimeLife that enforcement action may be taken unless the service is improved.
James Wood, managing director of PrimeLife, said Peaker Park had been a victim of its own success after high demand for its services.
He said it had carried out an internal audit which asked customers for their level of satisfaction and produced ‘exceptionally high results’, but did indicate that some of the home’s recording and administration systems had not kept pace.
He said: “We now provide long-term employment for in excess of 100 local people, many are new to the service. We recognise the importance of ensuring that they are properly skilled and supported in performing their role.
“We remain confident of the continued success of this brand new facility.”
A county council spokesman said: “The county council has worked in partnership with colleagues in the NHS and PrimeLife to raise the quality of care provided to those living at Peaker Park. Officers from the local authority and the NHS have been able to evidence that improvements have been made and continues to work with PrimeLife to ensure that improvements are sustained.”
A CQC spokesman said: “As with all the services registered with CQC, Peaker Park Care Village is subject to the ongoing monitoring of its compliance with the essential standards of care. As such CQC will be monitoring the service and carrying out further unannounced inspections to check on whether the required improvements have been
made. When standards are not being met CQC takes any appropriate action where this is deemed necessary. “
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Weather for Market Harborough
Sunday 19 May 2013
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Temperature: 10 C to 18 C
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