Poole care home criticised by CQC over medication management
A care home in Poole has been criticised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after an announced inspection revealed poor management of residents’ medication.
The Shores care home in Poole, which cares for people with learning disabilities and has a capacity of up to seven residents, was visited by CQC officers in November 2012. The inspectors found a few worrying problems relating to medication awareness training and management. For example:
- Out-of-date medication was left in people’s medicine cabinets
- Some medication was illegally labelled, being taken out of its original packaging and placed in other containers before being administered
- Plans for giving medication were inadequate – there were no plans for some medicines and some of the plans that were in place failed to give clear instructions to staff
- No medication awareness training had been given to staff on how to administer prescribed emergency medication for epilepsy which inspectors found on the premises, nor was there a plan for its use.
Harbour Care UK, which runs The Shores care home, has now been ordered to improve care training for staff and correct the issues raised in the inspection. The deputy director for the CQC in the South, Ian Biggs, said:
“We will return in the near future and if we find that this home is not making the required progress we won’t hesitate to use our legal powers to protect the people who use the service.”