Falls and medicine breaches reported at care home

Concerns over "unwitnessed falls" and unsafe medicine management have been raised by inspectors at a Surrey care home.

A report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found there had been a "breach of legal regulations" in relation to medicines at the Kings Lodge care home in Camberley, adding that medicines were not always managed safely.

Inspectors of the home in Kings Ride also found "there had been a high number of incidents including unwitnessed falls". They rated the home as "requires improvement" overall and particularly in the areas of safety and leadership.

A spokesperson for Aura Care Living Ltd, which runs the home, said it had "fully taken on board the comments" in the report.

The CQC inspectors said there were 73 people using the service at the time of their visit, which was a responsive assessment due to safeguarding concerns received.

They said: "Processes to help ensure that risks to people were assessed and mitigated were not always effective."

However, they rated the home "good" for being effective, caring and responsive.

"Overall, people were cared for by staff who were kind and caring and knew them well," they said.

"The home was clean, fresh and well-maintained."

Although staffing levels were rated adequate to meet people's needs, on the day inspectors visited "staff in one of the units seemed rushed".

"Most relatives thought there were not always enough staff on duty," they added.

Inspectors also said the home was developed to meet people's needs, including those living with dementia, and that there was a range of activities available which were person-centred.

While some relatives told inspectors they thought there were not enough staff, another said: "I can't speak more highly of the Kings Lodge staff. They are all so kind."

The Aura Care spokesperson said management and staff at the home were "deeply disappointed" by the publication of the report and believed the rating given did not "reflect the lived experience and positive feedback" of residents and families.

They added: "That said, we have fully taken on board the comments made by CQC in their report.

"The management team, with the support of all our dedicated staff, has put in place a plan of action for continuous improvement which we are determined will secure a 'good' rating again at the next inspection.

"The management team have already addressed the concerns raised in the inspection report and are looking forward to CQC inspecting them again."

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