Working at The Dales Nursing Home

Hiring new staff had gaps like unclear references, missing employment history checks, and no interview notes, so you can't be fully sure they are right for the job.

Whilst staff had a Disclosure and Barring Check (DBS) undertaken, other recruitment checks had not been consistently carried out. For example, where references had been received, it was difficult to see who and in what capacity they had been received from. No interview notes had been made.

Some risk checks like pressure mattress settings lacked details on weight or adjustments, which could risk skin damage even if no harm happened.

Charts in their bedrooms were 'ticked' to say the mattresses had been checked. However, it was not clear what staff were checking as the weight of the person or the setting the mattress was not documented.

Activities are basic like crafts, games, and occasional visitors with a new coordinator still developing the full programme, so days can feel routine.

The service had recently employed an activities co-ordinator who was in the process of looking at the activities on offer and designing a programme to meet people's interests.