HC-One: Red House residents at risk of malnourishment

The Red House in Ramsey, near Huntingdon, has been placed in special measures

Residents of an inadequate care home were at risk of dehydration and malnourishment, inspectors found.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said that care at the Red House in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire was "unacceptable and people were at risk of harm".

The CQC said "responsibility for these failings" lay with provider HC-One, which closed another failing home - The Elms - in Whittlesey this month.

HC-One apologised for the standard of care at The Red House.

Following the inspection the Red House, which can accommodate 60 people living with dementia and physical disabilities, has been placed in special measures.

It was rated inadequate in all areas, and the CQC said it "was not providing standards of care people have a right to expect".

Inspectors found there were not enough staff and that "people were not protected from harm and lessons were not learnt when things went wrong".

The report said: "Medicines processes were not safe, and staff failed to appropriately respond when a person displayed symptoms of an infection.

"People were at risk from dehydration and malnourishment. People experienced weight loss which was not effectively recognised and responded to by staff."

The BBC began reporting on HC-One homes in Cambridgeshire in May, after the relatives of three people raised concerns about The Elms after their loved ones died in 2019.

Margaret Canham, David Poole and George Lowlett died in 2019 at The Elms

Since then, HC-One announced the closure of The Elms and another home, the Manor House in Upwood.

The CQC said it was inspecting The Red House and The Cambridge care home in Chesterton, after being "alerted to concerns about the quality of care".

In relation to The Red House, CQC inspector Louise Broddle, said: "This situation was worsened because the service didn't have enough staff to meet people's needs, and the staff it did have had not received adequate training."

She add that HC-One should have "taken all reasonable steps to ensure it could meet people's needs".

"We are keeping the Red House under close review and we will not hesitate to take further action if we are not assured it has made significant improvement," she said.

"This could include requiring the home's closure."

A spokesperson for HC-One said: "Making sure we deliver high quality, kind care for all our residents is our utmost priority, and we are therefore deeply disappointed by the CQC's most recent assessment of The Red House.

"As a result of the specific challenges we have experienced in the Cambridgeshire area for some time now, we acknowledge that we have very sadly fallen short of the high standards our residents expect and deserve at this home."

HC-One acknowledged "we have not provided the standard of care at The Elms and The Red House that residents and their loved ones deserve"

With regards to the wider situation across the county, HC-One apologised and said: "These shortcomings all stem from the severe recruitment and retention challenges we have faced in the area, and which made the day-to-day running of these homes very difficult.

"We are looking closely at what lessons we can take from this."

HC-One said a new and "highly experienced" regional management team had been put in place.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire County Council, which has suspended new referrals to HC-One, said the authority "fully support [the CQC's] findings that the Red House is inadequate".

"We are closely monitoring this situation and supporting the provider to ensure the required improvements are delivered and good progress is being made," he added.

"Our key priority remains the people who live at the Red House and to make sure that the provider is delivering the right standards of care, skills and leadership."

The authority has said a decision on the future relationship with HC-One will be made by the end of next week.