CQC acts to protect the safety and welfare of people at a Kent nursing home

16 November 2011

The Care Quality Commission is taking action to protect the safety and welfare of people living in a nursing home in Margate, Kent.

In a report published today CQC inspectors identify a series of concerns found at Ashcroft House. CQC has issued three warning notices and three further compliance actions requesting immediate improvements at the home, and is working closely with Kent County Council to ensure people are not at immediate risk of harm.

Inspectors found that the provider, Regal Care Homes (Margate) Limited, was failing to meet six national standards of quality and safety, covering care and welfare, respect for individual rights, nutrition, staffing, safeguarding arrangements and the monitoring of the quality of service provided. By law, providers of care services must ensure that they are meeting all standards.

CQC has continued to monitor the home to ensure that the people living there are protected. Inspectors went unannounced to the home to check compliance in recent weeks. They found that there have been improvements but some more work still needs to be done.

The report, which is published today on the CQC website, lists a series of concerns found during inspections in September:

• Respecting people’s rights Inspectors found that people living at the home had not been involved in making decisions about care and treatment options. Information about likes and dislikes had not been recorded in care plans, and relatives of people with dementia had not been encouraged to take part in the planning process. Personal and privacy needs were not being met.
• Meeting nutritional needs Inspectors were told that people had lost weight and had become frail. One visitor told inspectors that they had to help their relative eat as the staff were too busy. Staff were seen encouraging people to eat but not supporting them to do so. There were also concerns around risk of dehydration, and around inadequate record keeping.
• Staffing Inspectors observed very little interaction between staff and people living at the home. Visitors to the home reported that personal care needs were being neglected. People were unshaven, were in stained clothing and looked unkempt. Inspectors saw a person walking around with a soiled incontinence pad hanging from the back of their trousers.
• Care and welfare of people A visiting family member told inspectors that their relative had suffered a number of unexplained falls and accidents at the home. Inspectors were told by another visiting relative that their family member’s bedsheets had been found to be stained and wet with urine. Care plans were not up to date, and risk assessments were sometimes incomplete.
• Safeguarding Visiting relatives and professionals told inspectors that people living at the home had unexplained bruising. There had been thefts in the home which had not been reported to the proper agencies by managers or staff. A member of staff told inspectors that a fellow member of staff had been reprimanded for whistleblowing.
• Monitoring of quality of service Inspectors found that care plans had not been updated when individual needs changed, and that relatives were not always involved in meetings about the care of their family member. The quality assurance system was limited and failed to identify problems.

Roxy Boyce, Regional Director of CQC in the South East said:

“The standards of care we found when we visited Ashcroft House in September were very worrying. Since then, the safety of people living at the home has been paramount, and we have been working with the home and Kent County Council to make sure that this is the case.

“When our inspectors visited the home, they found signs of neglect which were totally unacceptable. People living there were not receiving the safe and good quality care that everyone is entitled to expect.

“It is clear that Regal Care Homes (Margate) Limited have already responded to this report. On subsequent unannounced visits our inspectors have found some improvements to the home.

“While we are encouraged by progress, we will continue to monitor Ashcroft House very closely. If we find that they are failing to meet the essential standards of quality and safety that we demand, we will not hesitate to take further action to protect the people that live there.”

Ends

For further information please contact the CQC press office on 0207 448 9239 or out-of-hours on 07917 232143.

Notes to editors