Nottingham care home 'inadequate' for safety and leadership

The unannounced inspection at Hawthorn Lodge took place on 24 July

A care home in Nottingham has been rated Inadequate after an inspection uncovered concerns over safety and leadership.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) report into Hawthorn Lodge care home in Bestwood Park was published on Tuesday.

Inspectors visited the home after concerns were raised about infection control, safeguarding and medicine management.

Regal Care, which runs the home, has been approached for a comment.

The unannounced inspection at Hawthorn Lodge took place on 24 July.

The CQC said the visit focused only on safety and leadership and inspectors spoke to three of the residents, 13 relatives and seven members of staff.

They found residents were not protected from environmental risks and that risks were not documented or mitigated effectively.

'Risk of severe burns'

The report said: "Medicines were not managed in line with best practice.

"People who smoked and were prescribed flammable creams were not protected from the risk of severe burns or fatal harm.

"People were not protected from the risk of infection.

"Areas of the service were not clean, had damage and wear and required repair.

"Professional advice was not always sought or followed in a timely manner.

"Potential safeguarding incidents were not consistently documented or reported to the local safeguarding authority for further review."

The home was rated Inadequate for both safety and leadership and was given an overall rating of inadequate.

Other areas of interest, that were not inspected during this visit, remain rated "good" following an inspection in 2022.