Failure to Secure Smoking Materials for Supervised Smoker
Penalty
Summary
A deficiency was identified when a resident with motor neuron disease, osteoarthritis, muscle wasting, and atrophy, who was dependent for most activities of daily living except eating, was found to have unsupervised access to smoking materials. The resident was cognitively intact and care planned as a supervised smoker, requiring staff to store her cigarettes and lighter. Multiple quarterly smoking assessments also documented the need for staff to secure her smoking materials. Despite these documented requirements, observations and interviews revealed that the resident's cigarettes and lighter were kept in a bag attached to her wheelchair, accessible to her at all times rather than being stored by staff. Staff confirmed that the smoking materials were not secured as per facility policy, which mandates that all cigarettes and lighters be kept in a secured area and only distributed by staff during supervised smoke breaks. The facility's failure to follow its own policy and the resident's care plan resulted in the deficiency.