Holmesley Care Home banned from taking new residents

Eleven deaths have been reported at Holmesley Care Home in Sidmouth, Devon, since 25 February

A care home at the centre of a police inquiry over a Covid-19 outbreak has been banned from taking new residents.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited the Holmesley Care Home in Sidmouth, Devon in February, days before an outbreak of Covid-19 which led to 11 deaths.

Two staff members were arrested in March on suspicion of wilful neglect in connection with the outbreak.

The CQC downgraded the home from good to inadequate on safety and leadership.

The care home said the safety and wellbeing of residents was its "top priority" and they have or are "in the process of rectifying concerns".

The CQC said it had imposed conditions on the operation of the care home, preventing it from admitting new residents, or re-admitting former residents "without prior written agreement from the CQC".

Residents were at risk of neglect and abuse said the Care Quality Commission

The care home "must also ensure that systems are in place to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19 to protect patients and staff", said the CQC.

Amanda Stride, CQC's head of adult social care, said: "When we inspected Holmesley Care Home, we found that people were not protected from the spread of infection.

"During the first day of our inspection we observed seven members of staff wearing face masks under their chin, or not at all.

"Soon afterwards, the care home experienced a widespread outbreak of Covid-19.

"As the circumstances which led to this are now subject to a police investigation, we are unable to comment further on this."

She said inspectors found "widespread and significant shortfalls in the way in which the service was led".

"Residents were at risk of neglect and abuse because systems to monitor the quality of care were either not in place, or not operating efficiently," she said.

The CQC would "continue to monitor the service closely, in conjunction with the local authority, to ensure that improvements are made and fully embedded".

It was also meeting managers "to discuss how they plan to make the required changes to improve their rating and we will re-inspect to check the improvements have been made".

A spokesperson for Holmesley Care Home said "a detailed improvement plan" has been put in place and "all concerns relating to infection prevention and control have been rectified, and we are in the process of embedding new record keeping policies and training for staff."

They added: "The former Home Manager is no longer working with the care home and a new and experienced Home Manager is now in post. We are confident that upon the next inspection, significant improvements will have been made."