A failing care home where standards have been branded “completely unacceptable” has been placed in special measures to protect its residents.
The Care Quality Commission has taken action to safeguard the 25 people living at the Cedardale Residential Home, in Queen’s Road, Maidstone.
It follows an inspection in September when numerous problems were identified.
The home is run by MGL Healthcare Ltd and is licensed for up to 29 people, although at the time of the inspection there were 25 people living there, some of whom had dementia.
The service’s rating has dropped from “good” to “inadequate”.
It will now be kept under close review to ensure people are safe while improvements are being made.
Serena Coleman, the CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said: “When we inspected Cedardale, we found poor leadership across the service and inadequate systems to keep people safe.
“Areas of the home smelled badly, which wouldn’t have been pleasant for residents…”
“People weren’t always treated with dignity and respect.
“We saw people with greasy hair and looking unkempt, which told us people weren’t being supported with their personal hygiene.
“The deputy manager had to step in to support a resident with a task because other staff had ignored them.
“Areas of the home smelled badly, which wouldn’t have been pleasant for residents.
“Staff had taken photographs after a person had fallen to document any injuries. However, the photographs included areas of the person which didn’t need to be photographed, and were taken when the person was using the toilet, which was unnecessary and undignified.”
Ms Coleman said the lack of strong leadership across the home had meant changes had not been implemented.
“For example, the manager reviewed and updated care plans, but key information was often missing such as how staff could support people with their health conditions,” she added.
“It was very concerning that one person had lost over 5kg in weight in a month but there was no information about risks of weight loss in their care plan.
“They hadn’t been referred to the dietitian or monitored more closely following the weight loss.”
Cedardale Residential Home will not be allowed to admit new residents until it has demonstrated the service has improved.
“We were disappointed with the inspection results and understand that improvements are needed…”
Ms Coleman said: “This standard of care we saw being provided by Cedardale was completely unacceptable.”
Inspectors found that medicines were not managed safely, staff did not receive safeguarding training, and that in its decor and lighting, the home had failed to account for the special needs of those with dementia.
The CQC also said there had been a high number of falls at the service.
When people fell, staff and leaders failed to properly investigate or to make plans to mitigate against future risks, said its report.
Staff said their induction training was poor and they were often “thrown in at the deep end”.
The CQC said staff lacked knowledge and skills. For example, they did not know how to support someone who was asking to go home.
The full report can be found on the CQC website by clicking here.
MGL Healthcare Limited also operates Mount Calm Care Home in Bower Mount Road, Maidstone.
It too has been rated “inadequate” in every area following an assessment by the CQC last July.
John Lisi, a director at Cedardale, said: “We were disappointed with the inspection results and understand that improvements are needed.
“We look forward to showing the CQC the progress we’ve made when they visit us again…”
“Since the inspection, we have worked hard with the CQC, the local authority and consultants who specialise in improving care quality to make sure we provide the best care for our residents.
“We are very grateful to the families and friends of our residents for their support and we thank the KCC and Winter Pressures team for their help.
“We would also like to express our heartfelt thanks to our staff for their hard work and commitment during this time.
“We are fully committed to fixing the issues raised in the report and have created a clear plan to make lasting improvements.
“We look forward to showing the CQC the progress we’ve made when they visit us again.”
#Cedardale #care #home #Maidstone #special #measures #CQC #report #multiple #failings
Leave a Reply