Care home room was not fit for purpose

What happened

Mrs G contacted the district nurse to ask for respite care. The district nurse assessed Mr G's needs and sent a fast‑track continuing care assessment to the continuing care team. The continuing care team arranged for Mr G to be admitted to the care home the same day.

Mrs G visited Mr G at the care home the next day. Mr G's room smelled strongly of urine, and it was cold because staff had opened the window to try to get rid of the smell. Mrs G decided to take Mr G home because she was worried about his health and the risk of infection.

What we found

The care home used a room that was not fit for purpose. There were also failings in how the care home handled the complaint. Its responses were contradictory and it did not send a further response as it had agreed.

We found no failings by the Clinical Commissioning Group or the Trust.

Putting it right

The care home apologised to Mrs G and paid her £750 compensation. It also agreed to prepare an action plan to address its failings.