Nursing home rated inadequate by watchdog

Mountdale Nursing home has been rated as inadequate by Care Quality Commission inspectors

A nursing home in Essex has been placed under special measures after a report said it had failed to protect and keep residents safe.

Mountdale Nursing Home in Leigh-on-Sea, Southend, can provide care for up to 24 residents.

In the Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, the home was rated inadequate after inspectors found residents were not safeguarded from abuse and avoidable harm.

The management team from the nursing home said "we deeply regret" the performance did not meet the standards.

It had previously been rated as good by the CQC.

The nursing home provides care to elderly people and those living with dementia but inspectors said the environment did not support those living with the condition.

The report said there was also a lack of "dementia friendly household items" such as clocks with large LCD displays, reminder devices or items to provide sensory stimulus.

"There were no memory boxes and objects of reference to help aid reminiscence", it said.

The nursing home is also registered to provide care and support for individuals with learning difficulties but the report revealed staff had not received specific training for this.

'Unexplained bruising'

People were pleased with the food and the report said residents were "supported enough to maintain a balanced diet" but it found where people required staff assistance to eat "this was not always provided in a respectful and dignified manner".

Inspectors observed two members of staff standing up while supporting people to eat, rather than being seated at the person's eye level.

A relative told inspectors they had raised concerns with a manager about "unexplained bruising" to their family member's arms.

However, the incident was not raised as a complaint for further investigation or raised as safeguarding concerns with external agencies.

Inspectors also found that not all Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks had been completed. However, people did not raise safety and wellbeing concerns.

One person said: "I feel safe here, there is someone around to keep an eye on me."

A spokesperson from the nursing home said: "We want to reassure the public that we have already begun implementing a comprehensive action plan to address the issues identified in the CQC report.

"We have always been committed to ensuring that our organisation provides the highest standard of care and have done so consistently for the past 15 years, where we have had a ‘Good’ overall rating."