Recurring concern
Unreliable emergency response arrangements in care homes
- Reports that mention this concern
- 17
- Times this concern has been raised
- 19
- Stated actions linked to this concern
- 26
What this concern includes
Includes care-home arrangements for recognising emergencies, seeking medical or emergency assistance, activating emergency calls, allocating responsibilities, using emergency procedures and coordinating the immediate response, including the anchor's inadequate training of non-clinical staff and failures to provide defined emergency procedures.
What is not included
- Excludes generic care-home staffing, training or communication deficiencies unless they directly impair the care home's emergency-response arrangement.
- Excludes failures limited to ambulance dispatch, attendance, hospital handover or treatment after the emergency response has been appropriately initiated.
- Excludes routine clinical care, welfare checks or resident supervision where no care-home emergency-response deficiency is identified.
- Excludes generic first-aid or resuscitation competence concerns unless they are part of the wider care-home emergency-response arrangement.
- Excludes the narrower concern concerning care staff's ability to initiate an appropriate 999 or 111 call when that is the only supported failure.
Trends
Reports over time
Reports mentioning this concern, over time
Reports about this concern issued each year.
* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.
Most frequent recipients
Most frequent recipients
Reports about this concern sent to each recipient.
Reports and published responses 17 reports
See individual reports that have raised this concern, and the actions taken in response
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Concerns raised2
Failure to obtain timely alternative clinical input when the registered GP is unavailable
Insufficient training of non-clinical staff in responding to urgent health concerns
This report raised 4 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Riversdale (Northwest) Limited
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.2
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Riversdale (Northwest) Limited
Supervise senior care assistants on obtaining clinical support, including contacting 111 or 999 when residents are unwell and a GP is unavailable.
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Riversdale (Northwest) Limited
Arrange local GP registration within 24 hours for new out-of-district residents and obtain 111 advice if they become unwell before registration.
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Concerns raised1
Delays in care assistant intervention when a resident shows signs of choking
This report raised 7 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Hill Care Group
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.2
-
Hill Care Group
Reissue Basic Life Support and IDDSI/Dysphagia training electronically with defined completion timeframes.
-
Hill Care Group
Deliver face-to-face emergency first aid training to all staff by 14 October 2025.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
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Hill Care Group
The measures described are considered sufficient to satisfy the concerns, so no further safety work is proposed.
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Concerns raised1
Delays in calling an emergency ambulance for very unwell residents
This report raised 2 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Barchester Healthcare Limited
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.3
-
Barchester Healthcare Limited
Present learning from the matter to home managers, including escalation expectations and immediate 999 calls for newly unresponsive residents.
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Barchester Healthcare Limited
Complete themed supervisions covering RESTORE2 clinical judgement and managing resident deterioration.
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Barchester Healthcare Limited
Provide staff with Clinical Shots guidance for assessing residents and responding to deterioration.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.2
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Barchester Healthcare Limited
The reported 09:30 incident time is unsupported; staff identified no concerns about the resident’s health or wellbeing then.
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Barchester Healthcare Limited
Staff did not consider a 49-minute escalation period appropriate for an unresponsive resident and recalled no significant delay in this case.
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Concerns raised1
Lack of healthcare assistant and nursing staff training and clinical skills or knowledge for emergency care
This report raised 2 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Acorn Lodge Care Centre
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.2
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Acorn Lodge Care Centre
Continue providing nursing and care staff with up-to-date CPR and emergency-situation training.
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Acorn Lodge Care Centre
Purchase Lifevac devices and train relevant staff in their use, alongside providing choking-response sessions.
-
Concerns raised1
Failure to maintain emergency-response training through drills and expiry awareness
This report raised 7 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Chiltern Care Services
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.4
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Chiltern Care Services
Deliver emergency-response training through eLearning, recorded face-to-face sessions, expiry reminders, a maintained training matrix and weekly compliance review.
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Chiltern Care Services
Finalise the process document governing emergency CPR drills.
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Chiltern Care Services
Assess the competency of staff who will deliver emergency CPR training within one month.
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Chiltern Care Services
Obtain a PractiMan adult/child CPR training manikin for the home.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
-
Chiltern Care Services
Emergency CPR drills have not started because trainer competency assessment is pending; drills are expected to begin within one month.
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Concerns raised1
Failure to provide wearable emergency alert devices to residents not assessed as high risk of falls
This report raised 5 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Avery Healthcare Group
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.1
-
Avery Healthcare Group
Reconfigure the call-bell system to escalate unanswered calls after three minutes to an emergency tone.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
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Avery Healthcare Group
The reconfigured call bell system makes wrist-worn emergency watches unnecessary for high-risk residents.
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Concerns raised1
Failure to provide sufficiently frequent and effective emergency response training for care home staff
This report raised 2 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- J&K Partnership
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.4
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J&K Partnership
Provide face-to-face basic life-support and Level 1 first-aid training covering choking recognition, immediate response and escalation; training has reached 82% of staff.
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J&K Partnership
Give the two staff members without face-to-face training choking-response guidance and e-learning training.
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J&K Partnership
Deliver a face-to-face three-day Level 3 first-aid qualification to all service shift leaders.
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J&K Partnership
Introduce tabletop emergency exercises alongside face-to-face training and continuing e-learning.
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Concerns raised1
Failure of warning alarms to support immediate response throughout the care home
This report raised 12 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked response
- Broadland View Care Home
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.3
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Broadland View Care Home
Use walkie-talkies to coordinate night staff movements and communication throughout the building.
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Broadland View Care Home
Install and operate a monitoring system linking room-entry records, sensor mats, audible alarms and response-time reporting.
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Broadland View Care Home
Add sounders near Rooms 1 and 2 and test alarms to ensure emergency signals can be heard across the home.
-
Concerns raised2
Lack of an emergency response procedure
Lack of reliable emergency communication facilities in the residents’ dining room
This report raised 9 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked responses
- Care Quality Commission
- Hibiscus Housing Association Limited
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.1
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Hibiscus Housing Association Limited
Implement a written emergency procedure, embed it in risk assessments and the improvement plan, and train staff on it.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.2
-
Care Quality Commission
The CQC is not responsible for regulating the quality of Hibiscus House’s accommodation.
-
Hibiscus Housing Association Limited
The concern that no emergency alarm was available in the dining room is disputed because a functioning Care Link pull cord was installed there.
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Concerns raised1
Failure to provide timely out-of-hours access to the care home for ambulances
This report raised 9 other concerns. They are not shown here because they do not form part of this recurring concern.
Linked responses
- Care Quality Commission
- Castlehill Specialist Care Centre
Stated actions An action is something a respondent says it has done, is doing, or plans to do in response to the concern raised.1
-
Castlehill Specialist Care Centre
Install corridor monitoring screens linked to the external doorbell with audible alerts to improve timely building access.
Respondent positions A position is what a respondent says about the concern when they do not describe a specific action.1
-
Care Quality Commission
CQC will not progress a criminal investigation because the evidence does not meet the required threshold of proving avoidability beyond reasonable doubt.
Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.
Data last updated 7 September 2026