Residents at risk of 'financial abuse' at care home in South Normanton, says CQC

Residents at a long-established care home in South Normanton are at risk of ‘financial abuse’, a healthcare watchdog has found.
The Normanton Lodge care home must strengthen its procedures to protect residents from 'financial abuse', says the Care Quality Commission. (This is a generic photo not related to the home).The Normanton Lodge care home must strengthen its procedures to protect residents from 'financial abuse', says the Care Quality Commission. (This is a generic photo not related to the home).
The Normanton Lodge care home must strengthen its procedures to protect residents from 'financial abuse', says the Care Quality Commission. (This is a generic photo not related to the home).

Normanton Lodge, on Mansfield Road, has been hit by a ‘Requires Improvement’ rating after an unannounced visit by an inspector from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

And much of the criticism centred on the way the home manages residents’ finances which, the inspector said, was not robust enough.

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"People are not protected from the risk of financial abuse,” the CQC report claimed.

"We found no evidence that people had been harmed. But the system and processes are not followed by staff.”

The accepted definition of ‘financial abuse’ is the misuse of money or credit and debit cards, which could lead to unusual activity in the victim’s bank accounts, unpaid bills or even fraud.

There is no suggestion that Normanton Lodge is responsible for any such problems, but the CQC inspector felt the home needed to beef up its procedures for safeguarding residents in their monetary dealings.

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Normanton Lodge is privately run by the family-owned business My Care Ltd, which is responsible for several homes across the East Midlands.

Managed by Emma Lee, it provides personal care for up to 67 people who are elderly, living with dementia or have a sensory impairment, such as hearing or visual issues.

At the time of the inspection, there were 47 people using the service. They were living either in the lodge itself, which comprises 43 individual bedrooms with communal living areas and bathrooms, or in the associated Glen Care Village, which has 24 individual apartments, each with their own bathroom and kitchen.

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The overall ‘Requires Improvement’ rating compared to a ‘Good’ rating at the home’s previous CQC inspection.

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Normanton Lodge was found to be ‘Good’ in the categories headed effective, caring and responsive, but requiring improvement in the categories headed safe and well-led.

A second area of criticism focused on the home’s management and leadership, which was found to be “inconsistent”.

Systems to identify risks to residents needed strengthening. In particular, accidents, such as falls, that happened in the Glen Care Village were not analysed properly, the report claimed.

However, the inspector dished out plenty of praise for the home.

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Medicines were “safely managed”, and care plans “included detailed information about residents’ choices and preferences”.

The manager also “carried out regular audits and created action plans to address any areas for improvement”.

And residents were supported to “have control of their lives in the least restrictive way possible”.

The food at the home was said to be “of a good standard”, and the bedrooms and apartments were personalised with the residents’ belongings.

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Staff also received regular training and support “to maintain their skills and knowledge”, and they worked well with external professionals.

Feedback from the relatives of residents was also positive, according to the CQC report.

Comments included: “Staff genuinely care”, “The food is lovely”, and “I feel listened to and can ask questions”.

One staff member said: “It’s a great team. Everyone is really supportive. If you raise a problem, the manager deals with it.”

The Chad has asked the Normanton Lodge management for its comments about the CQC report.

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