Yorkshire care home in special measures after safety failings saw residents go without vital pain medication

Beechwood Care Home in Northallerton has been ordered to improve urgently by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after inspectors visited in May having received concerns about the quality of care and high staff turnover.

Inspectors found staff at the home - which has 40 residents - had not kept proper records of medication, with one resident going a week without their pain relief patch changing.

They also said they were not assured staff at the home were doing enough to avoid covid infections, including from visitors.

Less than half the staff (46 per cent) had up to date nutrition training, and residents had not been routinely weighed to ensure they were eating and drinking enough.

The report also found that staff - many of whom were agency workers were not attentive to residents’ needs, and that communal toilets were locked which meant residents could not access them independently.

The home was given a rating of inadequate by the CQC - the lowest possible rating - and ordered to improve within six months or face being closed down.

The care home has already begun work with the CQC and North Yorkshire County Council to urgently tackle matters raised in the inspection report, it said.

A spokesperson for the care home told the Yorkshire Post: “We are deeply disappointed with the findings in our latest CQC inspection report and want to reassure our residents and their loved ones that immediate action was taken to address the issues raised.”