Care home shuts after neglect 'unchallenged' - CQC

The CQC says residents had been supported to find alternative accommodation after being moved out of Asquith Hall

Residents have been moved out of a care home after inspectors found people living in dirty rooms, with neglect going "unchallenged".

The inspection at Asquith Hall in Todmorden found residents weren't given enough to eat or drink, with one bathroom found to be "saturated with urine and faeces".

One resident fell during the night, the CQC said, with the person still lying on the floor in the morning after they were unable to summon help.

The care provider, Tributary Ltd, has been contacted for a comment by the BBC.

The home on Burnley Road, which housed up to 53 people, had previously been given an overall rating of "requires improvement" after a visit by the CQC in 2023.

The watchdog carried out a series of visits in June after receiving concerns around residents' personal care and safety, with its rating subsequently dropping to "inadequate".

Tributary Ltd had since moved all 34 residents out of the home and closed the service, the CQC said.

'Overpowering malodour'

Sheila Grant, CQC deputy director of operations in the North, said inspectors found a "culture where neglect went unchallenged".

"People were left alone for long periods of time with no meaningful engagement in some cases in rooms which were unfit for human habitation," she said.

One resident had been living in "an extremely dirty bedroom", the CQC said, with the bathroom floor "saturated with urine, faeces and wet toilet paper".

"There was an overpowering malodour which pervaded into the corridor outside the room," the report said.

Call bells were found to be out of reach and no fall sensor mats were in place, meaning one resident who fell in the night had gone undetected on the floor.

Ms Grant concluded: "One person told us they thought the home was a horrible place and said it shouldn’t be called a care home because no caring took place there.

"These are heartbreaking words, and nobody should feel like this in a place they are supposed to be able to call home."

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