Blackburn dementia care home placed in special measures
- Published
The home was caring for 13 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection
A care home has been rated inadequate after inspectors found it to be an "undignified" living experience.
Longfield Residential Home in Blackburn was placed in special measures, external by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection in August.
Inspectors described the home as dirty and found that staff were not keeping people clean and well presented.
A spokesperson for the residential home said it had made significant improvements under its new management.
The CQC carried out an unannounced inspection after receiving concerns about the home, which provides personal and nursing care for people living with dementia.
Hayley Moore, the CQC's head of inspection for adult social care, said: "When we visited Longfield Residential Home we were concerned at how dirty the home was and how undignified people's experience of living here was.
"We saw people with food on their clothes and faces, and the new manager told us that people's feet looked as if they hadn't been washed for months."
It was noted that staff were not always wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) correctly while others had not completed Covid tests on a regular basis.
Inspectors also found medicine was not always managed safely and the care home had not always notified CQC of safeguarding incidents.
'Respect and dignity'
Ms Moore added each staff member spoken to during the visit would not be happy to have one of their family members living in the service.
She said: "We heard from one relative, that their family member had gone to hospital with faeces under their fingernails, wearing another person's clothes with holes in, another person's slippers that were too big and other people's clothes in their bag.
"Vulnerable people using this service rely on staff to help them live their lives with respect and dignity.
"This was not the case for people living at Longfield."
But, during the visit, the care home had started to address these concerns and was continuing to make further improvements, she added.
A spokesperson for the care home said: "The home implemented a new management system a week prior to inspection and was undergoing significant renovations.
"The home has been regularly liaising with CQC and Blackburn with Darwen Adult Social Care Services."
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