Last updated at 13:53, Monday, 02 July 2012

THREE members of staff at an Ulverston care home have been suspended.

An internal investigation is under way into the conduct of staff at Elmhurst Residential Home in Priory Road.

Cumbria County Council, which is responsible for the care home, confirmed the suspensions are all related to a single incident that occurred at the home. However, it said it could not give any specific details relating to the ongoing inquiry.

A council spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that three staff have been suspended from duty at Elmhurst Residential Home in Ulverston while an internal investigation takes place. This investigation is due to be completed by mid-July.

“Robust cover arrangements have been implemented to ensure there will be no detrimental impact on the quality of care provided at the home.”

Elmhurst is a residential care home for the elderly that specialises in dementia care. It has 40 residents and 60 members of staff, both full and part time.

Cumbria police said nothing has been referred to them and there is no police investigation into the matter.

Elmhurst was one of three homes run by the county council, all of which are in South Lakeland, to fail the latest inspection from the Care Quality Commission. A spokeswoman said: “CQC is aware of the investigation being conducted by the local authority safeguarding team and the provider has confirmed they are carrying out a full internal investigation. We are liaising with all agencies involved to ensure any areas where the provider is not meeting government standards are fully addressed and will take any necessary action following the outcome of the investigations.”

The CQC’s November 2011 Report of Compliance found “moderate concerns” with the care home’s complaints procedure and its lack of a registered manager. The report said: “We found that some straightforward requests from residents and relatives about aspects of personal care had not been properly addressed. This had created needless tension sometimes over lengthy periods of time.

“We found the management tended to be argumentative rather than accommodating, with a reluctance to assist with individual requests. We found a lack of willingness to ensure requests from relatives were encouraged, respected and granted where possible.”

A county council spokesman said there was always a manager at Elmhurst but the issue in the CQC report related to a problem regarding a paperwork delay in registering them. The county council runs 31 residential care homes for older people.

The others to fail their latest CQC inspection were Applethwaite Green in Windermere and Bridge House in Flookburgh.

First published at 13:25, Monday, 02 July 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk