A care home where “directionless” staff referred to patients by nicknames and intentionally “triggered” them has been placed into special measures by the health watchdog.

Blossoms Care Home Ltd based in Mounts Road, Greenhithe, has been rated “inadequate” following a visit from the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The service cares for up to 22 adults of all ages, including some people living with dementia.

An assessment was carried out on January 20 and 22 to check on the progress of improvements the CQC had told it to make at its previous visit, where issues surrounding safe care and treatment and how the service was being managed were raised.

CQC’s deputy director of operations in Kent Serena Coleman said: “It’s disappointing that despite our previous inspection of Blossoms Care Home highlighting exactly where improvements were needed, leaders had not done this, and in fact we found areas of further deterioration.

“Poor leadership had left staff directionless and unable to provide safe, effective, person-centred support.

“It was extremely worrying that, without consistent leadership, staff weren’t able to protect people from the risk of harm, as they didn’t have good guidance to refer to when supporting residents.”

During the assessment earlier this year, the service was found to be in breach of three further regulations around staffing, safeguarding and person-centred care.

We observed a staff member trying to get a reaction from a person by saying certain words which made the person become distressed

As a result, the health watchdog suspended the care home’s rating on the website to ensure people looking for information about the organisation can be confident that ratings are an up-to-date, accurate reflection of the care being provided.

It has also been placed in special measures, which means it will be closely monitored while making improvements.

In their report, inspectors said staff didn’t always treat people with dignity, with one member referring to people as “at the end of their life” in front of them while they were in their room.

It said: “We observed a staff member trying to get a reaction from a person by saying certain words which made the person become distressed.

“Another staff member was referring to people by nicknames, and there was no information in people’s care plans to say this was their preference.

“People living with dementia were not always given the respect appropriate, for example, we observed a staff member tell a person it was nearly 1pm.

“Another staff member said it was not, and it was not even 12pm. The first staff member said, ‘Yeah, I know I just tell (person) that, so they move’.”

Ms Coleman said: “Staff also weren’t able to manage medicines well, and we weren’t assured they had the skills or competence to document dispensing correctly or meet people’s needs without that good management.

“One staff member was writing documentation as we asked for it during the inspection, instead of being open that good records weren’t in place and it hadn’t been completed when it should have been.”

At one point, assessors found one patient was being prescribed medicines “as and when” due to their distressed behaviours”, but there was “no protocol or guidance to inform staff” what times it would be appropriate to administer them.

The manager also told the CQC they would complete pre-assessments of new people and would look at medical histories, behaviours, eating and drinking, choking, mobility, falls risk and wounds, but this had not happened.

Ms Coleman added: “Care plans only contained generic information and didn't reflect important aspects of the lives of the people who called Blossoms home, such as their past history and their goals or aspirations.

“This meant care wasn't planned in an individual or person-centred way, and people weren't supported to have control over any aspect of their lives. They should be able to expect this as standard in the way that most of us take this for granted.”

During the visit inspectors found damaged and unsafe equipment , including a rusty toilet frame, and uneven flooring in need of repair outside of the office.

Disinfectant and cleaning products had been left out unattended on a trolley, though the manager said this should have been locked away.

Ms Coleman said: “A new manager had been employed and was trying to improve the culture and morale at the service, but they hadn’t been there long enough yet for this to have a significant impact on people’s care or be embedded into daily practice.

“We were also concerned the new manager wasn’t receiving enough support from Blossoms Care Home Limited, who ran the home, to support them to make the significant improvements needed.

"People deserve to receive high-quality, person-centred care delivered by competent staff who can keep them safe.

“We'll continue to monitor this service closely to make sure people are safe while improvements are made.”

The CQC says it has also begun the process of taking regulatory action, which the home has the right to appeal.

Blossoms Care Home Ltd were approached for comment.