A care home has been plunged into special measures after a damning report highlighted infection control breaches and an assault which went unreported.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors have given The Chase in Canterbury a rating of inadequate – the worst mark available – following an unannounced visit in July.

They discovered a catalogue of concerning findings at the Ethelbert Road site, which cares for 29 dementia sufferers, amid reports the manager, who has since left, was “rude and aggressive”.

A report compiled by the watchdog reads: “There were widespread and significant shortfalls in service leadership.

“Staff did not feel valued by the registered manager. One employee told us, ‘The manager is rude and aggressive in their approach. Especially if they want something done there and then.”

The manager at the time had instructed staff to secure a resident, who was at risk of falling from seats, to their chair with a belt or that of a dressing gown.

This was despite it being a “restriction and restraint” and inspectors believing it “placed the person at risk of serious harm”.

The inspectors noted that the provider launched an investigation following the visit which found staff were unaware of the instructions and “would not have followed them as they were unsafe”.

“The provider and registered manager had failed to consistently protect people from abuse. This placed people at risk of harm,” the CQC report continues.

“We were not assured staff were using PPE effectively in line with government guidance.

“The registered manager and provider told us staff did not always wear masks and a robust risk assessment was not in place around this.

“We observed staff not wearing masks or not wearing masks correctly. One staff member was wearing a fabric mask which was not in line with government guidance.

“The provider told us they would ensure staff wore face masks in future.”

Inspectors say they were not assured the registered manager was admitting people safely to the service, after being told people had not been required to isolate for 10 days when they moved in.

Medicine-handling shortfalls were also documented, with one resident even requiring emergency drugs that carers were not trained to use.

Fortunately, the person had not required the pills since they were prescribed, but service provider Purelake made arrangements to reduce the risk to the individual following the inspection.

“People were not always safe at The Chase,” the inspectors add.

“In May 2021 an incident had occurred in which one person had hit another person.

“The registered manager had not informed the local authority safeguarding team of the incident.

“Following our inspection, the provider informed the local authority safeguarding team so they could consider any action required to keep people safe.”

"What you see in the report is all accurate. I’m gutted..."

As part of being in special measures, the home is set to be inspected again at some point over the next six months.

If it is not adjudged to have made sufficient improvements, the CQC says it “will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service”.

Despite this, the CQC says staff understood their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding and concerns surrounding the carers’ conduct were acted upon promptly.

The body was also assured the provider was preventing visitors from catching and spreading infections, adhering to social-distancing rules and ensuring outbreaks were effectively prevented.

New manager Fugen Fleming, who is also Purelake’s secretary, told KentOnline: “What you see in the report is all accurate. I’m gutted.

“We’re trying to turn the tide. I’m very confident we’ll make the necessary improvements..."

“The place is a lovely home – a lot of the issues that were brought up in the report were down to the management.

“We’re trying to turn the tide. I’m very confident we’ll make the necessary improvements.

“The residents are happy and the families are happy with the care. We haven’t had a case of staff or residents having to isolate for more than 200 days.

“I’d like for us to get a rating of good next time around, but I’ve been told it’s very difficult to make that jump from special measures.”

KentOnline reported towards the end of 2019 that a police investigation had been launched after a man died from choking at the home.

It was subsequently rated inadequate rated by the CQC, but a follow-up inspection last year found it had improved.

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