WESTBURY Court Nursing Home has introduced a rigorous improvement programme following heavy criticism from former members of staff and a damning report from the Care Quality Commission.
The nursing home on Station Road, which is part of the Four Seasons Health Care group which own 450 care homes in the UK, has issued a statement to White Horse News saying it has introduced the improvement plan with a new management team, staff changes and recruitment of additional staff.
“We acknowledge that there were shortcomings in management and supervision and with some members of staff in the home that we have addressed,” said the care home.
“The home is now under the management of a Peripatetic Manager. They are among our most experienced managers, who go into homes as trouble-shooters to drive improvements. In addition there is a new Regional Manager and Operations Director responsible for overseeing and supporting the management of Westbury Court. Effectively there is a whole new management team and even the business itself has a new Chief Executive Officer.
“There have been significant changes to staffing within the home with several new carefully chosen appointments and we continuing to recruit additional staff. The current management and staff team are working hard to improve the quality of care for our residents and we have already seen significant improvements.
“In common with many homes we use agency staff to cover during periods of staff absence, to ensure there is a full complement on duty at all times. We have made an arrangement with the agency to provide continuity of the same staff so that when we have need to use agency services they are familiar with our procedures and the residents’ needs.
“The allegations and concerns that have appeared in White Horse News categorically were never raised with the present management team. We cannot know if they were raised with a previous Home Manager or Regional Manager as they are no longer with our company.
“We have a rigorous improvement plan that has been agreed with the Care Quality Commission and this is already being implemented. In brief summary it includes: recruitment of a new manager; staff changes and recruitment of additional nurses and care staff (who will be commencing in the coming weeks, as they are subject to background checks, which take some time, before they can start); enhanced staff training; rigorous management monitoring and review of care plans and other documentation; close management supervision to ensure that the effective policies and procedures we have in place throughout our homes to support quality of care are strictly followed.
“We recently held a meeting of residents and relatives at the home to explain the improvement plan and to answer their questions. We have also provided a more detailed explanation of the improvement programme to the Town Council and have invited representatives of the Council to visit the home to meet with the Regional Manager and Peripatetic Home Manager.”
