Hyde care home told to improve in report disputed by management

The home's managing director Peter Hill said the report had "disproportionate judgements" and "factual inaccuracies"

A care home has been told to improve after inspectors found staff shortages and unexplained bruising on residents.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found Charnley House in Hyde, Tameside, was not always clean and safe.

Inspectors also found recruitment checks were not up to scratch and overstretched staff struggled to meet people's needs at times.

The home's managing director Peter Hill said the report had "disproportionate judgements" and "factual inaccuracies".

The CQC inspection took place in August 2023 with a report published in December, which highlighted a lack of safety when handling medicines as well as bruising on residents which had no explanation.

It said body maps "should be used to document and illustrate visible signs of harm and physical injuries", but the documents were "not always being completed to reflect these".

"We observed one person had black bruising and a skin tear to their hand and finger and there was no incident form or body map completed," inspectors said.

"We observed another person had significant bruising to their head and face and there was no completed body map."

'Unprofessional conduct'

The report went on to state that recruitment checks had not been up to scratch and hardworking staff were stretched and struggled at times to meet people's needs.

The inspectors gave an example of one night where a high number of falls at the home had taken place while only three staff were on duty to care for up to 40 people over three floors.

Responding to the report, Mr Hill said Charnley House Ltd was "a prudent and reflective provider of care", which always took seriously "any concern raised about our service".

He said the CQC's draft report had contained "a number of factual inaccuracies [and] disproportionate judgements and failed to include some positive evidence relating to our service".

"In addition, we had very serious concerns about the way that the inspection team conducted its review," he said.

He said the firm had "no option but to... lodge a formal complaint about what we saw as concerning, unprofessional conduct on the part of the CQC inspection team".

"Despite our comprehensive submission and supporting evidence, the CQC did not make any substantive changes to the final report, which we feel does not accurately reflect our service," he said.

He said the firm did not feel the report was "a reliable document" and the CQC had not yet given "a detailed response to our complaint, which is very disappointing".

He added that the company took its duty "to constantly improve and learn very seriously and will always react positively and proactively to accurate and substantiated criticism".

"We hope that the next inspection of the service is a more positive experience and restores the home's good rating," he added.

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