Norfolk care home resident's toenails not cut for months
- Published
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigated the care given to a woman at Delph House in Welney, Norfolk
A woman living in a care home went six months without having her toenails cut, a report found.
The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman investigated the woman's care at Delph House in Welney, Norfolk.
It said failure to ensure her feet were properly cared for potentially breached "the fundamental standards of providing person-centred care".
The care home said a chiropody appointment was not possible due to dressings on the woman's feet.
It said the woman, referred to as Mrs Y, was seen weekly by district nurses from November to February to dress pressure sores on her heels, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.
The ombudsman's report, external said Mrs Y had lived permanently at the care home from January 2019 and was admitted to hospital twice in that time, in November that year and in February 2020.
It said on both occasions it was noted her toenails were "badly overgrown" and a safeguarding referral was made about her footcare.
She was discharged from hospital in February 2020 to another care home and died shortly afterwards.
The ombudsman said as she died soon after the "injustice to her directly is difficult to determine".
Mrs Y was also given her medication a day early by a staff member who did not read the instructions properly, though this was found not to have contributed to her health problems.
"Both the care home and the council responded responsibly to the error," said the ombudsman.
Delph House, which is run by 365 Care Homes Ltd, currently holds a "requires improvement" rating from the Care Quality Commission, external.
365 Care Homes said the staff member was trained in medication, but that when medication errors occur, staff are retrained.
The home also contacted the GP for advice and reported any errors to safeguarding, it said.
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