A Mansfield care home had its registration suspended after health inspectors found a series of problems including injection needles and sheets soiled with faeces.
Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors visited The Limes Care Home in Park Road, Mansfield Woodhouse, in February and March 2022.
A report on the February visit has now been made public by the commission.
After the March visit, the CQC “urgently suspended” the home’s registration and all residents have been moved out of the home, which has now closed.
And the family of the registered provider of the service, a Mr AA Toorabally, have said he had suffered from a long illness meaning he was unable to take part in day-to-day running of the home before his death in February.
Inspectors had already also visited in January but said “significant concerns” had been raised meaning they returned sooner than anticipated.
A previous inspection in July 2021 had first rated the home as ‘inadequate’ after it was discovered Covid-19 guidelines “were not being effectively followed” at the service.
The service, caring for 17 people aged 65 and over, some of whom were living with dementia, was also placed in ‘special measures’ by the CQC.
On the visit in February, inspectors found “people were not protected from the risk of abuse”, “government guidance was not followed or adhered to” relating to Covid and “there were not enough adequately trained staff to support people safely”.
During the unannounced visit, “used injection needles were found to be left on the top of a filing cabinet and not disposed of safely” and “bed sheets in two people’s rooms [were found] to be stained with bodily fluid and sheets soiled with faeces to be left to soak in a bucket”.
One washing machine, which broke in December 2021, had not been replaced and another did not reach a hot temperature.
The report also identifies an incident in February where a resident’s equipment, which they used to move around safely, was taken away.
The report into the home stated: “The staff failed to recognise this as a safeguarding incident, and it was not reported.
“Staff management of the incident was highly inappropriate. The staff all failed to recognise this as an incident of abuse.”
The inspectors also found that “a large number of people had been admitted into the service unsafely in a short space of time”.
Some staff members were also recruited without DBS checks, induction, supervision, shadowing or training.
The report added: “The provider had taken inadequate action to have the home effectively cleaned since our last inspection and following their COVID-19 outbreak. For example, large balls of dust were found in the home, toiletries were found in communal bathrooms which had not been moved since our last inspection and grime was visible around these items.”
A CQC spokesperson added: “We can confirm that CQC has urgently suspended the registration of The Limes Care Home in Mansfield following an inspection in March, and everyone has safely moved out to alternative accommodation.
“The findings from the [latest] inspection will be published in a report on our website in due course.”
CQC records show the registered care provider at the home was AA Toorabally, while the home’s day-to-day care was run by a registered manager.
In a statement issued following the publication of the February CQC report, the Toorabally family said Mr AA Toorabally could not initially be contacted for comment as he had died earlier this year.
They said in a statement: “The provider AA. Toorabally sadly passed away in February 2022 following a long and debilitating illness which left him unable to participate in any day-to-day running of the care home.
“This responsibility was given to a manager put in post to ensure the home continued to run and meet standards. Unfortunately, the home was unable to continue running and has since closed.”
