Residents 'not showered' care home in Essex warned

Inspectors at The Oaks had to intervene when a resident at risk of a fall attempted to stand without any staff present

A care home where fewer than five residents were showered in a fortnight could be closed down after inspectors found it had failed to improve.

The Oaks Residential Care Home in Great Bentley was one of two homes re-inspected after being put in special measures last year.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) found residents at Bellevue Residential Care Home, Clacton were at risk of choking.

Both sites need to improve or could lose their registration, the CQC said.

The Oaks was inspected in January after concerns were raised by the council and whistleblowers about standards of care and staffing.

Inspectors had to find a member of staff when they saw a person at risk of a fall trying to stand up without help, and witnessed a person begin to choke on food in an unattended dining area.

"We found that sufficient improvements had not been made since our last inspection in August and September 2017," the CQC said.

"Failures in the service continued to be widespread and demonstrated the provider's inability to make and sustain improvements."

This included insufficient numbers of staff on duty, care not being co-ordinated and people not being protected from the "unsafe management of medicines", the CQC said.

Bellevue Residential Care Home no longer has anyone living on site, the CQC said

At Bellevue Residential Care Home in Clacton, which cared for up to 10 elderly people, inspectors said residents were at risk of choking and that staff were not sufficiently trained.

It also found issues with moving and handling and support provided to people with catheters and at risk of choking.

"We were not assured that people always received their medicines as prescribed," the CQC said.

"Staff did not demonstrate that they had sufficient levels of training or expertise to meet the complex needs of the people living in the service."

The CQC added that since the inspection there was no-one living at the site.