Folkestone: Pelham House care home ‘rated inadequate’ by inspectors

The CQC said residents did not always receive their prescribed medication

A Kent care home has been rated inadequate and placed in special measures following an inspection.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors found standards at Pelham House in Folkestone were "well below" what was expected.

They found staff did not always wear masks at the home, where 10 out of 22 residents died with Covid in June 2020.

Pelham House owner Roger Waluube said his staff "put a huge amount of effort and hard work in to keep people safe".

Speaking to BBC Radio Kent, he said he was "disappointed with the report and the impression given" but the issues raised by the CQC had been addressed.

The inspection on 11 August found: "Staff and management didn't wear face masks in line with government guidance."

Pelham House had been given an "inadequate" rating by the CQC in October 2021, and upgraded to "requires improvement" in March 2022.

Inspectors in August said that staff knew how to raise safeguarding concerns, and were positive about the home's manager, saying they felt they could raise any issues.

But the CQC also reported residents were at risk of falling, and that incidents were not reported, and lessons were not learned.

'Further action'

Hazel Roberts, CQC head of adult social care inspection, said: "We found standards of care fell way below what people should expect and a number of issues were putting people at risk."

She said residents did not always receive their medication as prescribed, and the premises were not always clean.

The care home, which provides support to older people, some of whom are living with dementia, was inspected after concerns about the standards of care were raised.

CQC inspectors found cleaning products were not locked away, and hot water taps were not temperature-controlled, putting residents at risk.

'Recovery journey'

Mr Waluube said: "When we look at our residents and our staff, by and large they are very happy people."

He said a decision had been made for staff to stop wearing masks unless they were carrying out "personal care" duties.

"We moved from a position of wearing masks every day, all day, particularly during the summer, to doing lateral flow tests," he explained.

He said all care homes were struggling with recruitment and funding issues but changes had been made since the inspection.

He said the home had also "strengthened and boosted" its management and administration teams.

"Coming out of Covid, we knew the recovery journey was going to take years, not months or weeks. That journey is still continuing," he added.

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