Looe care home rated inadequate after inspection uncovers serious failings
The CQC found serious failings around safety and management at Restgarth Care Home, in Looe
A Care Home in Cornwall, has been rated as inadequate and placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection in September.
The CQC found serious failings around safety and management at Restgarth Care Home, in Looe.
The care home has up to 32 residents, some of whom are living with dementia, and is run by Orange Care Restgarth Limited.
This was the first inspection by the CQC since the home was registered with its current owner.
The CQC say it has taken urgent action to protect residents by imposing conditions on the home’s registration.
These mean the home must make immediate safety improvements, provide monthly updates on how risks to residents are being reduced, and cannot admit new residents or re-admit previous residents without the regulator’s approval.
The home has also been placed into special measures, which involves close monitoring to ensure residents are safe while improvements are made.
Issues found during inspection
CQC inspectors discovered several failings including leaders not addressing ongoing issues effectively and staff lacking proper support from management
There was no permanent manager for the home, with minimal involvement from managers at two sister homes. As a result, essential duties such as care plan reviews were being neglected.
In the kitchen, inspectors found sticky floors, unswept areas.
According to the CQC one staff member said deep cleaning hadn’t been carried out for about a year.
Other failings included staff administering medication without checking its ingredients, resulting in a vegetarian resident being given medication containing animal products.
Stefan Kallee, CQC deputy director of adult social care in Cornwall said:
“When we inspected Restgarth Care Home, we found leaders weren’t managing the home well, putting people at serious risk of harm," Kallee said.
“We found people were being left without support for unacceptably long periods during the day.
"Our inspectors reviewed CCTV footage which showed one person was taken to the dining room for breakfast at 9am, then left in their chair until 6pm without any further support.
"This is completely unacceptable and places people at serious risk of neglect and harm.”
“Care plans were incomplete and out of date, which meant staff didn’t have the information they needed to support people properly.
"One person had been identified as being at risk of weight loss by a dietician, but records indicated they hadn’t eaten breakfast for six days in a row.
"There was no guidance for staff on how to encourage them to eat, and they hadn’t been weighed for two months despite care plans stating this should happen monthly.
“We also found people weren’t being supported with basic dignity and respect. Systems to monitor people’s skin integrity to avoid things like pressure sores weren’t working. Following our inspection, staff checked people and found six individuals with redness that appeared to be due to poor continence care.
“Leaders had identified areas for improvement but actions to address these had not been effective and the same poor practices kept happening.
Throughout the inspection, staff told us they felt unable to raise concerns because when they had raised issues previously, these were dismissed or ignored."
The findings of the CQC's report have ben shared with Restgarth Care Home and the CQC say they will continue to monitor the site to ensure necessary improvements are made to safeguard the residents.
Restgarth Care Home’s response
Restgarth Care Home has acknowledged the findings of the CQC inspection and expressed its commitment to addressing the concerns raised.
The care home say the leadership team has implemented a comprehensive improvement plan, including strengthened management and increased senior oversight across all areas of care, safety, governance, and staffing.
A spokesperson for Restgarth said:
“We are fully committed to delivering rapid and sustainable improvements. Our priority is always the safety, wellbeing, dignity, and quality of life of the people who live at Restgarth.”