{"id":1177178,"date":"2026-08-30T12:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T12:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1177178\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T12:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T12:12:15","slug":"smelly-bedrooms-unclean-residents-and-recruitment-concerns-in-this-weeks-healthcare-inspection-round-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1177178\/","title":{"rendered":"Smelly bedrooms, unclean residents and recruitment concerns in this week’s healthcare inspection round-up"},"content":{"rendered":"

One GP file held \u2018no evidence of qualifications\u2019\"Hilltop<\/p>\n

Hilltop Court Nursing Home, Heaton Norris(Image: Google)<\/p>\n

Greater Manchester services have been pulled up on a number of issues in this week\u2019s healthcare inspection reports.<\/p>\n

Watchdog the Care Quality Commission found residents in a Stockport<\/a> care home to have dirty hair, nails and clothes. Areas of the service were \u2018malodorous\u2019 and people did not always have access to drinks, inspectors added.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, problems with recruitment were raised at a Platt Bridge GP surgery. One GP file held \u2018no evidence of qualifications\u2019, while other missing information included references, proof of identity, DBS checks and employment history documentation. \u2018Significant gaps\u2019 in training were also discovered.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> for the latest on Greater Manchester’s politics in our newsletter<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, staff at a Manchester home care service were praised by inspectors for their \u2018exceptional\u2019 kindness, including throwing a birthday party for a person with no close family. Service users described them as \u2018angels\u2019.<\/p>\n

Here is a breakdown of Greater Manchester\u2019s recently published CQC reports:<\/p>\n

Manchester<\/p>\n

Dam Head Medical Centre<\/strong>, in Rochdale<\/a> Road, was rated \u2018good\u2019 this week. Care at the GP was judged by inspectors to be safe, with staff training and recruitment considered to be appropriate and the premises \u2018visibly clean\u2019.<\/p>\n

The practice offered \u2018extended hours\u2019 for appointments to help patients who could not attend during normal working hours. It has also introduced an online system for patients to request appointments and seek advice, reducing phone pressures.<\/p>\n

People who needed extra support were supported to access care easily and comfortably, including the offer of double appointment slots so they did not feel rushed.<\/p>\n

Passion Home Care Ltd<\/strong>, based in Gibfield Park Avenue, was another service to receive a \u2018good\u2019 rating from the CQC. Inspectors found the service was \u2018exceptional\u2019 at treating people with kindness, empathy and compassion.<\/p>\n

Service users spoke highly of their carers, with one saying: \u201cI would describe the staff as lovely human beings that care and look after me exceptionally well. I don\u2019t think I could find a better company who are as flexible and supportive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another said: \u201cEvery girl who comes to me are like angels. They are always smiling\u2026 I cannot believe that a company has such smashing girls.\u201d<\/p>\n

A relative added: \u201cI have been blown away with the support and level of care received from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

A person without close family recently celebrated a \u2018landmark\u2019 birthday, the report added. Their care team organised a small celebration with cards, gifts, balloons and cake. Inspectors said this \u2018brought this person immense joy\u2019.<\/p>\n

The service was \u2018flexible\u2019 when it came to admissions, the report added. This included admitting people earlier than planned to \u2018ensure safety and prevent any shortfall in care\u2019.<\/p>\n

Rochdale<\/p>\n

Rochdale Road Medical Centre<\/strong>, in Middleton<\/a>, was also judged to be \u2018good\u2019. Patients told the CQC they felt involved and confident that staff understood their needs.<\/p>\n

The inspection team felt staff showed \u2018strong attention to detail in the care they provided\u2019 and \u2018took care to ensure that care and treatment were delivered safely\u2019. They were noted to be \u2018respectful and compassionate\u2019, taking the time to listen, respond to concerns, and provide reassurance where needed.<\/p>\n

Medicines were generally found to be managed appropriately. However, inspectors found some emergency medications were not available at the time of their visit. There was no risk assessment in place to explain the gaps or mitigate the risks associated with this.<\/p>\n

\"Dr<\/p>\n

Dr Ahmad and Partners, based in Platt Bridge Health Centre(Image: Google)<\/p>\n

Stockport<\/p>\n

Hilltop Court Nursing Home<\/strong>, in Heaton Norris, was found to have made some improvements since its last inspection which saw it issued with a warning notice. However, it was still in breach of two of the four regulatory areas previously raised as concerns.<\/p>\n

The CQC issued a \u2018requires improvement\u2019 rating to the home following its most recent visit. Concerns over personal care and residents\u2019 hygiene remained, inspectors said.<\/p>\n

Some people had dirty fingernails, unclean hair, did not \u2018always look well-kempt\u2019 and were in \u2018unclean\u2019 clothes and footwear, the report added. Although electronic records indicated people were being supported to wash, it was not clear areas of personal care were being closely attended to or that records of personal care were accurate, inspectors said.<\/p>\n

People did not always have access to drinks in their bedrooms, while inspectors said they had concerns some underweight people were not receiving enough calories.<\/p>\n

Lack of information in some care plans created a risk of health conditions not being safely managed. Inspectors also said they had concerns over what they described as \u2018significant use\u2019 of sensor beams to alert staff to people\u2019s movements in their beds.<\/p>\n

They said assessments for these were \u2018not robust\u2019 and \u2018did not evidence this was the least restrictive practice\u2019. The impact of the \u2018loud alarms\u2019 had also \u2018not been considered\u2019, they said.<\/p>\n

While the home had been redecorated and appeared \u2018lighter, brighter and welcoming\u2019, inspectors raised ongoing concerns over the building. They said they found some doors unlocked, emergency cords not set to standards and uncovered radiators.<\/p>\n

Some bedrooms were \u2018malodorous\u2019 and there were \u2018some shortfalls in cleanliness\u2019, the report continued. The ground floor bathroom was cluttered and contained trolleys housing soiled laundry.<\/p>\n

They also noted there were \u2018outstanding actions\u2019 regarding the home\u2019s fire risk assessment, with \u2018improvements needed\u2019. The CQC said the home had reported these done following the inspection.<\/p>\n

However, relatives spoke positively about the services, with one saying: \u201cI’ve no complaints about any of the staff. The new manager is trying to improve things. I’ve no complaints at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harbour Healthcare, which runs the home, was approached for a comment.<\/p>\n

Wigan<\/p>\n

Dr Ahmad and Partners<\/strong>, in Platt Bridge, was also rated \u2018requires improvement\u2019 following a visit from inspectors. The GP, also known as Alexander House, was judged to be \u2018good\u2019 in three areas \u2013 effectiveness, caring and responsiveness \u2013 but concerns were raised over safety and leadership.<\/p>\n

Inspectors said they found \u2018several gaps\u2019 in safety oversight, including fire risks, out of date \u2018consumables\u2019 and legionella assessments. The practice was \u2018maintained\u2019 and \u2018clean\u2019, however.<\/p>\n

Problems were also found when it came to staff training with \u2018significant gaps\u2019 in completion rates. Mandatory training in areas such as safeguarding, infection prevention and control, and first aid had expired for some staff members.<\/p>\n

Recruitment concerns were flagged too, with one GP file holding no evidence of qualifications, and new admin and reception staff starting their jobs before all pre-employment checks had been completed.<\/p>\n

Missing information included references, proof of identity, DBS checks and employment history documentation.<\/p>\n

However, staff \u2018always\u2019 treated people with kindness, empathy and compassion, the report stated. They also \u2018demonstrated awareness\u2019 of vulnerable people\u2019s needs, including providing quiet spaces and prioritised access for patients with learning disabilities, autism and sensory impairments.<\/p>\n

Same day appointments were available where clinically required, children were always seen on the day, and additional evening and weekend appointments were available through Primary Care Network extended access services. Some 90pc of those who responded to a national survey described their overall experience of contacting the service as being good, compared to a national average of 77pc.<\/p>\n

Dr Ahmad and Partners was approached for a comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One GP file held \u2018no evidence of qualifications\u2019 Hilltop Court Nursing Home, Heaton Norris(Image: Google) Greater Manchester services…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1177179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4316],"tags":[390,105,4348,485,211,457,285,1170,1288,16,15,1287],"class_list":["post-1177178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-family","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-manchester-family","tag-nhs","tag-people","tag-politics","tag-rochdale","tag-stockport","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-wigan"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117184400449984814","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1177178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1177178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1177178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1177179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1177178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1177178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1177178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}