Daughter demands answers over mum’s falls at Solihull care home

A Solihull woman who says her elderly mother suffered three “serious” falls at a borough care home is still seeking answers a year later.

Jenny Bragg has slated the care that her mum, Joan Sanford, received during her time at Chelmund’s Court – which received a damning report from the health watchdog less than 12 months after opening.

Ms Sanford, who is 86-years-old and has dementia, had been hospitalised in March, May and August 2018.

The great-grandmother suffering a broken hip on the first occasion, a further fracture the second time and a broken shoulder in the final fall and was left with lasting mobility problems as a result.

Ms Bragg, from Knowle, has also accused Solihull Council’s social care team of not acting quickly enough when it became apparent that there were problems at the Chelmsley Wood-based facility.

Runwood Homes, which operates the home, insisted it took the “care of our residents very seriously” and said the most recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report showed there had been significant improvements at the site.

The council conceded Ms Sanford’s care “fell short” of required standards but said it had worked closely with the care provider to help the site emerge from “special measures”.

But Ms Bragg, whose mum was transferred to Silver Birches, in Marston Green, following the third fall, described the care as “disgusting” and said it was “wrong” that older people were being exposed to these conditions.

“It was horrendous what happened to my mum,” she said. “She had three major falls.

“There have got to be changes, we have got to find a way, we have got to take care of our elderly.”

Ms Sanford, a former shop steward at Triumph motorcycles, in Meriden, was diagnosed with dementia around a decade ago and had moved into Chelmund’s Court last February.

Ms Bragg, 62, said: “It seemed very nice, all very spanking new and everything and then just probably within three or four weeks – a month – things weren’t quite the same.

“There didn’t seem to be so many staff … my mum when she saw me she said ‘take me home, get me out of here’.”

She has also voiced concern about the staff turnover and personal care provided and contradictory reports around how the third fall happened.

Ms Bragg told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the problems that rapidly engulfed Chelmund’s Court, which first opened in late 2017, exposed the failures in the care system and supports calls for CCTV cameras to be installed at facilities, to ensure the safety of vulnerable residents.

She said: “Why don’t they do it? Because of things like this maybe, who knows? But there should be, there should be.

“I know my mum wasn’t showered, she wasn’t taken care of, she was without a Zimmer frame, she had three major falls … in that place.”

In the past year, she has been pressing Runwood for answers about the incidents and requested a copy of the accident log-book, but claimed she had frequently faced a “wall of silence”.

Last week she met with a senior officer to discuss her many concerns and is now waiting to hear back.

Chelmund’s Court had been branded “inadequate” in all areas after CQC inspectors visited last summer, with special measures imposed.

The regulator had raised concerns about management of medicines, reliance on agency staff and “accident and incident reporting”, with Chelmsley Wood councillor James Burn (Green) having described the failings as “shocking”.

The latest report, following an inspection earlier this year, rated the 73-bed home as “requires improvement” overall and noted that progress had been made.

A Runwood Homes spokesman said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases but we are very assured that the whole team at Chelmund’s Court have worked incredibly hard to ensure the high standards of care we expect are delivered as standard. This is evidenced throughout the most recent CQC report.

“We take the care of our residents very seriously and as such have worked in partnership with the local council in Solihull to ensure quality care provision is maintained throughout the service.

“As a residential and nursing service we aim to provide person centred care at all times and act in the best interest of all who share our home.

“Any concern raised with us will of course be fully investigated and through an open and transparent process communicated to the relevant people.”

A Solihull Council spokesman said: “The council acknowledges the level of care Jenny’s mother received at Chelmund’s Court during 2018 fell short of the required standards.

“The council was aware of concerns regarding the quality of care in the home, and was working with Runwood (the care home management company) to ensure improvements were made.

“The council and Solihull Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) took the decision to stop placing new residents in the care home until the quality of care had sufficiently improved. The council launched a large scale safeguarding inquiry and reviewed the welfare of all affected residents.

“The findings were confirmed by the outcome of the Care Quality Commission’s inspection in July 2018.

“Since this inspection the quality of care at Chelmund’s Court has greatly improved as evidenced by the follow up inspection and from feedback from residents, carers and families.

“In April 2019 the council and Solihull CCG were confident of the standard of care being delivered and began placing residents once again.”

Read more: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/daughter-demands-answers-over-mums-16806627