The Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman has found fault with a care home following a complaint about the care of a resident with gout.

The complaint concerned the care of a resident at a home run by Kingsley Care Homes during the period from 1 November 2021 until 11 February 2022.

Commenting on the care of his father, referred to as Mr X, the complainant, referred to as Mr C, said the care home failed to listen to concerns between 21 and 28 January 2022 that a flare up of gout would need colchicine medication, which resulted in Mr X having difficulties mobilising and enduring severe pain.

Mr C also complained the home failed to carry out actions required to reduce the risk of the spread of Covid-19.

He said that as a result of these and other issues the family had no choice but to move Mr X to another home and should, therefore, have care home fees for his notice period waived.  

The Ombudsman found an error in Mr X’s plan, which said the care home had colchicine tablets in stock when they had only be prescribed by the GP as a specific course to be taken and completed via the pharmacy. No evidence was found in the care records that staff asked Mr X every day if he was in pain, which was also fault. The Ombudsman also did not see evidence that staff monitored and recorded swelling in Mr X’s fingers after a call with his GP.

However, the Ombudsman found no fault with the home with the issues identified by Mr C with regards to Covid-19.

Furthermore, the Ombudsman saw no indication the situation required an immediate move to another home to safeguard Mr X and, therefore, found no grounds to waive the fees for his notice period.

A Kingsley Healthcare spokesman said: “We are pleased that the Ombudsman found there was no indication to suggest the situation required an immediate move of the resident to another home to safeguard Mr X. Medication for pain relief was offered throughout the resident’s stay with us. We have shared the lessons learnt with our staff regarding communication and as agreed apologised to the family. We have every confidence in our staff and continue to build a close working relationship with other professionals regularly attending the service to support the provision of personalised care.

“We are also pleased that the Ombudsman did not find any fault with our service regarding the issues Mr C identified about the management of Covid-19. We would like to thank our staff for promoting the safety and care of the residents by adhering to the guidelines of the United Kingdom Health Security Agency during the time Covid-19 was present in the service. We  trust the residents and relatives will take comfort and reassurance from the full findings of the Ombudsman.”