A Nottinghamshire care home has been downgraded from good to inadequate and placed in special measures following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission.
Eden Lodge Residential Care Home in Bestwood Village was inspected in July after the CQC received information raising concerns about risks at the service.
The home, operated by Sai Om Limited, can accommodate up to 60 people, including people living with dementia and mental health conditions. There were 25 residents at the home when the inspection took place.
Inspectors identified four breaches of regulations covering safe care and treatment, person-centred care, safeguarding and the management of the service.
The ratings for safety and effectiveness were downgraded from good to inadequate, while the rating for leadership fell from requires improvement to inadequate. The home’s ratings for caring and responsiveness were reduced from good to requires improvement.
Inspectors said leaders had failed to identify or address problems involving the condition of the building, medicines, care plans and staffing. Some known risks had remained unresolved for extended periods.
The CQC found that parts of the home were not consistently clean, with dirty floors, mattresses and equipment identified in some areas.
Concerns were also raised about the management of medicines. Inspectors found medication with unclear labels and cases where guidance explaining when medicines should be administered was missing.
The regulator said appropriate checks had not always been completed before staff began working at the home.
Inspectors also found that safeguarding incidents were not always recorded or reported to the local authority. Information had not always been shared with healthcare professionals, which the CQC said placed residents at risk of harm.
Residents were reported to have had mixed experiences of care. Inspectors saw staff treating people kindly during some activities but also observed distressed residents repeatedly being told to sit down instead of being comforted or reassured.
Some residents said staff were too busy to spend time with them, while inspectors found people could be left without support for long periods in communal areas and their rooms.
There was no registered manager in post at the time of the inspection. A new manager had recently been appointed but had not yet had an opportunity to implement changes.
Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of adult social care in the central region, said: “During our visit to Eden Lodge Residential Care Home, we found a service where leaders didn’t have proper control over the quality and safety of care.
“Leaders’ audits and checks hadn’t picked up problems with the environment, medicines, care plans and staffing, and known risks went unresolved for long periods.”
She said staff had told inspectors they supported each other and the leadership team had responded to the CQC’s findings by taking some immediate action during the inspection.
Ms Roberts added: “We have told leaders where urgent improvements are needed, and we will keep the service under close review to ensure people are kept safe while this happens.”
Special measures mean the home will be closely monitored while improvements are made. The process sets a timeframe for the necessary changes and allows the CQC to take further action if sufficient progress is not achieved.
