ALLEGATIONS that a care home company was forcing staff to work despite being Covid-positive have led to enquiries being made by the Care Quality Commission.
The Crossroad Group, which runs Royal Court and Hoyland Hall care homes in Hoyland, said it had received ‘defamatory’ communication from someone purporting to have worked for the former.
It said whenever concerns were raised, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had been contacted and was ‘fully satisfied’ with the running of the home, rated as requiring improvement after previously being put into special measures in October 2020 – at which point the Crossroad Group took over.
The unidentified whistleblower alleged staff members were not isolating when testing positive and were therefore putting residents at risk.
A spokesperson for the group said: “Where concerns have been raised to CQC, there has been a full and thorough investigation carried out on each occasion.
“CQC have been fully satisfied with all responses and have expressed no concerns at the running of the Home neither have identified unsafe practices or risks to the residents.
“Relatives have also provided feedback through surveys sent out, that they are very happy with all aspects of the home.
“In the current Covid challenges, safety of all our staff and residents is taken extremely seriously, with advice being taken on a regular basis from Barnsley Infection Control team as to the correct course of action to take.
“We endeavour to continue to work very closely with all stakeholders and our loyal team to continue provide a first-class service.”
A CQC spokesperson said: “We can confirm CQC have received information regarding care homes operated by the Crossroad Group in Barnsley.
“We are liaising closely with the provider and are continuing to make enquiries.
“We have informed Barnsley Council and Barnsley Clinical Commissioning Group about the concerns raised and will continue to monitor the service closely.
“Although CQC does not investigate individual complaints, all the information we receive informs our monitoring of services and future inspections.”
Coun Jenny Platts, cabinet spokesperson for adults and communities, added: “The council operates robust safeguarding and contract monitoring processes for care homes to assure the safety of residents.
“We will continue to work closely with CQC to consider any allegations made against a care home and ensure these are followed up accordingly.”
