| Care home residents died from 'severe neglect' Failing care home could not deal with needs of elderly residents, serious case review findsFive elderly residents of a failing care home who died within two weeks of each other had suffered "severe neglect", an official inquiry has concluded.The residents of Parkside House nursing home in Northampton died between 22 July and 6 August, 2009. They were aged between 83 and 100.A serious case review into the deaths, published today, described standards of care at Parkside as appalling. It said signs of a rapid decline in standards at the home in the weeks before the first resident died had not been picked up.The review said that by July last year the home, set up for people over 65 suffering from dementia or long-standing mental illness, was unable to deal with residents with additional needs and "simply could not manage".Concerns were raised after an elderly woman from the home was admitted to Northampton General Hospital on 21 July last year with severe pressure sores. She was described as unresponsive and dehydrated – symptoms considered by hospital staff to be consistent with "severe neglect". She died the following day. Another resident, found to have similar pressure sores, died on the same day at the home.On 24 July, three residents were moved out of the home amid fears for their health. One died in a community hospital on 28 July, another died in a different care home on 4 August, and the third died in another home on 6 August.Northamptonshire's Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults (Sova) board chairman Marie Seaton said the five people died in circumstances that "none of us would wish our mothers or fathers, or sons or daughters, to die in".At a press conference, it was disclosed that there was a lack of basic care, including ensuring residents had enough to eat and drink.Verdicts of natural causes were recorded in all five deaths, but the review found they died from causes that "were considered to be consistent with the effects of severe neglect".Seven members of staff and the owner of the home were referred to the Nursing and Midwifery Council by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).The home had been inspected in November 2008. But the review found it had gone into decline since then, "linked to a lack of leadership and management control at the home".The review said Parkside House's CQC registration was for people suffering from dementia and long-standing mental illness. "However by July 2009 it is clear that they were actually looking after people with those needs plus considerable physical and nutritional needs that they simply could not manage."The report said there was nothing to suggest any individual failed in their duty, but a variety of visits by authorities did not identify what later became obvious.It said: "There is very little evidence of communication between agencies about Parkside House... Agencies and sections within agencies carried out their separate tasks with little or no reference to each other."The panel said an action plan had been put in place to prevent a similar situation developing at any other care home in Northamptonshire and improvements were being made.Graham Sloper, independent author of the report, told the press conference it seemed the deterioration in standards at the home had taken place relatively quickly.He said the owner "taking her eye off the ball" was one of the factors that may have led to the decline, and the situation had changed from one that could have been managed to one that was extremely serious.The CQC described the standard of care at Parkside House as "appalling".When it visited the home on last July, it found specialist mattresses were not being used properly. The inspector found systems were not in place to make sure people who had, or were at risk of developing, pressure sores had access to specialist care.Amanda Sherlock, CQC director of operations, said: "It is not acceptable that anyone, in any care setting, should suffer the appalling standard of care that was provided here."Social careLong-term careHealthOlder peopleguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
English heritage sites 'thriving' The number of adults visiting two heritage sites in England rose by a million to 24.8 million last year compared to the year before, a report says. bbc.co.uk |
Typical pension pot of 60 year old is £10,600 Savers have been given a rare boost as figures show the amount Britons can expect to retire on has increased. telegraph.co.uk |
Joe Gazzano obituary The first thing you noticed as you went into Gazzano's delicatessen in Farringdon Road, central London, was the smell, perfume rather – the sweet savour of cured pork overlaid by the clean, lactic tang of cheese and the heady blast of coffee. The second thing you noticed was Joe Gazzano, who has died aged 60 from lung cancer.He was a short, stocky figure in an apron, with a thick head of hair brushed back, an easy smile and keen eyes behind his spectacles. He greeted many of his customers by name and in the appropriate language, slipping from English to Italian and back again as easily as a slice of Gazzano's prosciutto slipped down the throat.Gazzano's, founded by Joe's family a century ago, was a model of its kind, shelves piled with rustling bags of pasta asciutta, dried pasta, ranks of bottles and tins of olive oil and carefully selected wines. It cheered you up just going in there, browsing over the display cabinet of salamis speckled with fat and peppercorns, legs of prosciutto or rolls of porchetta ready to be carved, and mortadellas as round as cannon barrels. There was an array of cheeses, laid out with artful casualness, and neat tumps of sausages, glistening and tied to each other with string.Around the corner were the fresh pastas, raviolis with two or three different fillings (the pumpkin was a particular favourite of mine) and agnolotti, tagliatelle. And none of these temptations ever looked tired or tatty. The secret, as Joe knew, was having a steady turnover of foods, and that meant having a steady throughput of customers.While Gazzano's was very much Joe's shop, Joe's empire, his true genius was to keep it, as it had always been, a family enterprise. His own children were just as much a part of the tapestry of Gazzano's as he was, and I lost count of the times that I spotted a new, keen, knowledgeable youngster behind the counter. "Oh, he/she's my nephew, niece, cousin, so-and-so's son/daughter," Joe would say.Nor was Joe a man who lived in the past. In 2004 Gazzano regulars were dismayed when the shop closed down to allow for the site to be developed, and for a new Gazzano's to rise from the rubble in 2006, clad in metal in a daring design. (Gazzano's kept their Guardian devotees happy by opening a cafe in the Guardian museum on the other side of Farringdon road). This typically shrewd move not only moved the old family business smartly into the 21st century but helped guarantee the future of the shop, hopefully for a second hundred years. It stands as a monument and a memorial to a modest, kindly man.Joe is survived by his wife Ruth, children Joe and Lucy, and grandchildren Mia and Sam.LondonFood & drinkItalyThe GuardianMatthew Fortguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Nurse filmed turning off patient's ventilator: profile of health care agency Paralysed patient had become so concerned about care quality that he set up CCTV that captured the error. telegraph.co.uk |