CQC care home report finds pensioners lay in urine-soacked beds in ‘horrifying’ service

November 25, 2016

A CQC investigation found 4 private homes were providing ‘shoddy’ care
It discovered distressed residents were ignored and not given any help
It comes after secret reporters exposed the shocking cruelty and neglect
The Morleigh Group homes have since been put under special measures

Stephen Matthews For Mailonline

Published:
07:23 EST, 25 November 2016

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Updated:
10:04 EST, 25 November 2016

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A pensioner had to lay in a urine-soaked bed for two hours, a damning new report reveals.

An investigation into four private care homes in Cornwall found they were providing ‘grim and shoddy’ levels of service.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) report discovered distressed residents were ignored and not given any help to eat their meals at the Morleigh Group homes.

Following the inspection, they have all since been placed under special measures, while one has closed.

A Care Quality Commission investigation into four private care homes in Cornwall found distressed residents were ignored and not given any help to eat their meals

Andrea Sutcliffe, chief inspector of adult social care at the CQC, said: ‘These reports make horrifying reading .

‘These services were providing grim, shoddy and unsafe care – the sort that no one should ever have to put up with.

‘I am sorry that people have had to endure this poor level of care.

‘The owner of the Morleigh Group knew what they needed to do to provide good quality care because we had made that clear.

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‘They failed to listen and take action and they allowed the services to seriously decline since our previous inspections when the homes were rated as Requires Improvement.’

The review was prompted after a whistleblower raised the alarm over the appalling conditions at the care homes, which charge residents £750 a week.

Undercover reporters from Panorama then went in to expose the shocking cruelty and neglect of vulnerable residents.

But the CQC inspectors found Clinton House Nursing Home, St Austell, which closed earlier this month, was frequently under-staffed.

The report discovered distressed residents were ignored and not given any help to eat their meals at the care homes ran by the Morleigh Group (pictured, Clinton House Care Centre, which closed as a result)

They noticed one resident crying for more than an hour and a half while carers walked past without addressing them.

One pensioner had not received their prescribed medication for three days.

While inspectors found one resident who suffered from incontinence and was at risk of pressure sores, but was not routinely turned or checked by staff at Elmsleigh Care Home in Par.

People sat in the same seat all day, with their meals left in front of them uneaten, even though most needed encouragement to eat.

At Collamere Nursing Home, Lostwithiel, inspectors witnessed people with dementia who were calling out repeatedly for some time with no response.

One person shouted out throughout the day and night. It was only after the inspection that their GP was asked to review their pain relief.

At St Theresa’s Nursing Home, Callington, inspectors found medicines were not being managed safely.

Equipment wasn’t being maintained and the collection of soiled laundry from bedrooms and cleaning procedures did not meet suitable standards.

Continence pads and net pants used to secure continence pads were shared communally.

Devon and Cornwall Police are involved in a multi-agency investigation into a number of allegations at the care homes but no arrests have yet been made.

Patricia Juleff, owner of the Morleigh Group, said: ‘I would like to publicly apologise for the distress that our residents, their families and our staff have felt in recent weeks.

‘Over the past few weeks, the Group has undertaken a detailed review of our systems and procedures whilst fully complying with multi-agency investigations.

‘Early in that review, staff numbers were increased in all of our homes and dismissals were made both since and prior to being notified by the producers of the Panorama programme.

‘Our review has found inconsistencies in medicine control, maintenance, DBS checks and staff training that are now being addressed and we are stepping up our efforts and resources across all of those areas to improve the level of our service.’