CQC warns Heathcote care home that it is failing to protect the safety and welfare of people

8 December 2011

The Care Quality Commission has issued a formal warning to Lisa and Mark Charig that that they must make urgent improvements to standards of care or face further action.

The warning follows an unannounced visit by inspectors to Heathcote care home at Swanage as part of CQC’s planned review of care services.

Inspectors found that Mrs Lisa Charig and Mr Mark Charig were failing to meet the government regulation relating to the care and welfare of people who use services:

• The planning and delivery of care did not meet people's individual needs. Proper steps were not being taken to ensure the welfare and safety of people living in the home.
• Plans of care were not being updated following significant events that affected people’s lives. There was evidence of deterioration in people's health and wellbeing which was not being robustly addressed.

Ian Biggs, deputy director of CQC in the South, said:

"The law says that these are the standards that everyone should be able to expect. Providers have a duty to ensure they are compliant.

“This warning sends a clear and public message that Heathcote needs to address this issue as a matter of urgency or face serious consequences.

“Our inspectors will return in the near future and if we find that Mr and Mrs Charig are not making the required progress we won’t hesitate to use our legal powers to protect the people who live there."

Ends

For further information please contact the CQC press office on 0207 448 9401 or out of hours on 07917 232 143.

Notes to editors

CQC will publish further details of the inspectors’ findings in a review of compliance on its website at a later date. You can find previous reports on this provider at:

CQC has issued a warning notice to Mrs Lisa Charig and Mr Mark Charig requiring action to meet:

• Regulation 9, Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010, (Outcome 4) Care and welfare of people who use services

If the required improvements are not made, CQC has a range of enforcement powers which include restricting the services that a provider can offer, or, in the most serious cases, suspending or cancelling a service. CQC can also issue financial penalty notices and cautions or prosecute the provider for failing to meet essential standards. Any regulatory decision that CQC takes is open to challenge by a registered person through a variety of internal and external appeal processes.