Care Regulator Finds Care Home Must Improve, UK

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told the Dormers Wells Lodge care home in Southall that it must take urgent action to address concerns over quality and safety.


Dormers Wells Lodge is a 45 bed care home, located in Southall, West London. It is operated by Dormers Wells Limited, which is a charitable trust and a non-profit making organisation. It has a dementia unit which accommodates 23 people and a general unit which accommodates 22 elderly people.


Inspectors carried out two visits in November 2010 and observed how people were being cared for. Inspectors spoke to people living at the service, carers and staff, and checked the provider's records focusing on six of the 16 essential standards. This review was initiated following safeguarding concerns being raised about the care home, some of which are currently under police investigation.


CQC found that Dormers Wells Lodge does not meet five essential standards:


- Respecting and involving people who use services: Most people living at the home do not have choices regarding their care, treatment and support, and have not been treated with consideration and respect. Their dignity, privacy and independence have not been protected. They do not have a choice of where they spend their time and there is no flexibility in the routine of the home.


- Care and welfare of people who use services: People living at the home have not received effective, safe and appropriate care. Treatment and support provided has not met individual needs, and resident's rights have not been protected. We found that people did not receive medical attention in a timely manner when they had been injured.


- Safeguarding people who use services from abuse: Poor care practices within the home have been permitted by the Registered Manager. People living in this home have not been protected from abuse, and their rights have not been respected and upheld.


- Supporting Workers: Some staff carried out poor care practices in the home. The home did not have an open culture where staff could raise concerns without any fear of recrimination. People living at the home have experienced abuse because concerns about staff, management and care practices were not identified or challenged.


- Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision: The home did not have monitoring systems in place which protect people living there, and some residents have experienced abusive practices.


By law, providers of health care services have a legal responsibility to make sure they are meeting the essential standards of quality and safety. Dormers Wells Lodge has provided CQC with a report that says what action they are taking to achieve compliance with these essential standards. CQC continues to monitor the service to make sure that the improvements have been made.


- Read the full report on Dormers Wells Lodge