Eastbourne nursing home breached covid-19 PPE guidelines

Palm Court Nursing Home did not properly ensure staff wore PPE to help prevent the risk of covid-19, inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have said.

Concerns raised included staff holding residents’ hands without PPE, and not washing their hands between contact with people.

Published this month after an inspection on August 6, the report said, “The provider had not ensured that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was being worn in accordance with current government guidance to help prevent the risk of covid-19, this meant people and staff were at risk in relation to the spread of infection.”

Staff had access to the appropriate PPE, the report said, but it was not being worn in accordance with guidelines.

Inspectors noted workers did not wash or use antibacterial gel on their hands between contact with people.

Staff were also not socially distancing, according to the report, and no measures were in place to support people to socially distance in communal areas.

There were 33 people living at the service at the time of the inspection, according to the CQC report.

It comes after the nursing home, which looks after people with dementia, was brought out of special measures in 2018.

It moved from the ‘inadequate’ rating to ‘requires improvement’ rating from the health watchdog, with inspectors raising concerns over the management of medicines.

The latest report said the home was ‘clean and tidy’ and improvements had been made since the previous inspection.

However, the home in Prideaux Road was told it still requires improvement as it was ‘not always safe’.

Palm Court says on its website it has not had any suspected or confirmed cases of coronavirus.

A spokesperson for Palm Court Nursing Home said, “Palm Court is a nursing home that looks after people living with Dementia and has been covid-19 free throughout the pandemic due to the early Infection Prevention and Control measures that were put in place to safeguard our residents.

“The home went into lockdown one week before the national lockdown and all non-essential visits were stopped, where we tried to create a ‘protective bubble’.

“All our staff and residents to date have tested negative. Palm Court remains covid-free since the beginning of the Pandemic where we have not had any symptoms, cases or deaths caused by covid-19.

“All admissions to the home are tested for covid-19 and only admitted after receiving negative results.

“On admission, all residents are isolated for the first 14 days where staff wear full PPE while looking after newest members of our well-being community.”

To view the full report, visit the CQC website: www.cqc.org.uk

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