Mice living in mattress at 'shocking' care home

Rodney House was "extremely unhygienic and unsafe", inspectors found

A care home where mice were found living inside a mattress and residents were living in "shocking, undignified" conditions has been temporarily shut down.

Rodney House in Liverpool, which provides support to older people, and those with mental health conditions and physical disabilities, was put into special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Inspectors found widespread failures in leadership and residents were living in dirty and unsafe conditions during an inspection in June and July in which they gave them home an inadequate rating.

EBS Services Limited, which runs the home on Canning Street, said any reference to "mice in a mattress" outlined in the CQC report was "inaccurate and under review".

The care home can provide personal care for up to 57 people – but all residents have now been moved to temporary accommodation that meets their needs.

Issues in the home included the facility regularly running out of toilet paper, exposed electrical wires, and a lack of essential training aong staff.

'Extremely unhygienic'

The health watchdog inspection took place between June and July after concerns were raised about the quality of care being provided to people.

It also found people were living in extremely unhygienic and unsafe conditions.

The report said inspectors were shown evidence of mice living in one resident's mattress and that staff had failed to remove sticky fly catchers, covered in dead flies, from an earlier infestation.

Shared bathroom and toilet facilities were unclean and poorly stocked with toilet roll, inspectors said.

There was also exposed electrical wiring which placed people at risk of electrocution.

Inspectors also found leaders did not put important details in people's care plans and didn't listen to concerns about safety.

Staff did not manage medicines safely, staff were not properly trained in essential areas like safeguarding, emergency response and managing people's complex needs which put people at risk of harm, the report said.

Karen Knapton, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said "no-one should have to live in these shocking, undignified conditions".

"People were living in extremely unhygienic and unsafe conditions," she said.

The CQC has begun the process of taking further regulatory action to address the concerns, to which EBS Services Limited has the right to appeal.

The CQC has imposed urgent conditions on EBS to prevent the service from taking in new residents without prior consent from CQC, requiring leaders to notify the commission of how they intend to assess and meet the care needs of new people.

'Independent inspection'

EBS Services Limited said over the past three years it had "invested heavily in refurbishment, safety systems, and infection-control measures, supported by external maintenance and environmental reports".

"It is regrettable that the CQC inspection process failed to give due recognition to this context or to the improvements that were evidenced, including independent infection control assessments and verified pest control documentation confirming that there had been no unmanageable infestations," a representative said.

The representative said the mattress referred to in the CQC report was still in the company's possession and had been retained for "independent inspection".

They said many of its residents had lived through "trauma, rejection, and long-term homelessness" and Rodney House had provided "stability, compassion, and a genuine chance to rebuild their lives".