Covid-19: Sale care home staff 'not wearing masks for months'

Waterside House has been placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission

Staff were not wearing face masks "for several months" during the coronavirus pandemic at a care home that has been put into special measures by a health watchdog.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) also found a resident with an "unexplained injury" at Waterside House in Sale.

The facility was rated "inadequate" on safety and leadership grounds.

Trafford Council, which manages the care home, said "service had fallen well below expected standards".

"We have offered our sincere apologies to residents and their families for this," a spokesman added.

The CQC report into the independent living facility said there was a "negative culture" in some parts of the home and that staff "were not always treating people with respect" with safeguarding issues also a concern.

During October's inspection, it was found that "policies and procedures" to support the "prevention of Covid-19 entering people's homes" had not been made "in a timely manner", and the use of face coverings had only been recently introduced at the time.

The report found staff "had not received any up to date infection control training to reflect Covid-19", but it also said a "detailed action plan" in response to the pandemic has since been set out.

'At risk of harm'

The unexplained injury to a resident was discovered by inspectors, which they said "showed a prompt safeguarding referral had not been made".

The resident has since received additional medical treatment after inspectors prompted staff to make a referral.

Inspectors said they found "no evidence" that people had been harmed, but were concerned that people were being placed "at risk of harm".

The injury and other concerns around safeguarding meant the care home breached Regulation 13 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 - relating to safety "from abuse and improper treatment".

The report found that "not all" allegations of abuse were investigated or referred on and that "the management team failed to ensure people were protected from allegations of abuse".

The CQC said it was liaising with police and the local safeguarding authority while the allegations were investigated.