'Unsafe' Northampton care home failed to notice when residents were poorly or sick, inspectors say

In the past two years, Pytchley Court Nursing Home, in Brixworth, has failed to meet standards despite inspectors visiting five separate times to tell them how to improve.

But in its newest report published last week (November 12), the home has now slipped into an 'inadequate' rating after the CQC found repeated failures to make sure its residents were safe.

Records showed one incident where, after a person suffered a nasty fall, their blood pressure indicated they could have been bleeding or in shock. But staff took two hours to call a doctor and stopped taking her pressures.

Despite clinical notes that seven people showed signs of poorliness - such as diarrhoea, vomiting, and 'funny turns' - nursing staff failed to grasp the full scope of what was happening to people and decide whether they required medical treatment.

And during their visit, inspectors had to raise six safeguarding alerts from risks and dangers they spotted on their rounds.

The report reads: "People who were living at Pytchley Court Nursing Home were not receiving safe care.

"We observed one person received their breakfast close to lunchtime, which meant they were unable to eat their lunch and missed a meal; this person had lost 11 per cent of their body weight in six weeks.

"There was no reliable system in place to make sure people were drinking enough water to stay hydrated... Inspectors also found three people living with diabetes with any risk assessments in place."

Nearly all of the home's nurses were agency staff who relied on care plans and risk assessments to do their jobs - but inspectors found these plans were often in poor shape or inaccurate.

Registered manager Ms Zora Antoinette Johnson and her team have been six months to improve before they are reinspected.