A care home has been handed the lowest rating possible from the Care Quality Commission after inspectors found residents “were not safe and at risk of avoidable harm”.

A damning report published a fortnight ago reveals how staff at 37 Spenser Road in Herne Bay failed to report an incident in which a person had to be restrained to Kent County Council’s safeguarding team.

The report reads: “The provider had not always protected people from the risk of abuse.

“We identified an incident between two people at the service which had not been reported to the local safeguarding authority.

“An incident report detailed that a person had been ‘held back’ by a staff member.

“The person involved was not assessed as needing to be restrained, and staff had not received training in restraint.

“The provider had failed to identify this or conduct an investigation into the potential use of unauthorised restraint.”

The document also notes the business did not implement risk assessments to support residents with conditions including constipation. One person had no movement in their bowels for between three and nine days on four occasions in one month.

The announced visit at the end of August came after concerns were raised about the home’s staffing, risks to people and lack of management oversight.

The inspection also revealed carers at 37 Spenser Road, which supports people with learning disabilities, had not received training on the risks of Covid-19.

Staff were not wearing appropriate personal protective equipment, with one regularly resting their covering under their nose.

“People were not safe and were at risk of avoidable harm,” the report continues.

'We apologise to our residents and their families for the shortfalls identified...'

“There were insufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs.

“There had not been a registered manager at the service since July 2018. The changes in management had left staff morale low.”

Overall, 37 Spenser Road was rated inadequate by the inspectors - the worst score a home can receive.

This prompted the CQC to place the home into special measures, which means the watchdog will attempt to stop the provider from running the service if it does not improve over the next six months.

Despite this, the report notes that positive interactions between residents and staff had been observed and that medicines were managed safely.

The premises was also rated “good” in two of the five categories assessed and “requires improvement” in another.

Optima Care, which runs the care home, said it acknowledged there had been “shortfalls” in the service, and that a new manager had since been appointed and made improvements.

A spokesman said: “Notwithstanding, we have always maintained the safety and wellbeing of our residents prior and throughout the pandemic where the staff team have done exceptional work in a very challenging environment.

“With an experienced manager in post and additional resources we are confident to continue to make rapid improvements in areas discussed with CQC whilst continuing to keep the residents, families and staff at the centre of our priorities.

“We apologise to our residents and their families for the shortfalls identified and are committed to ensuring the service continues to implement the necessary improvements and look forward to a review of the inspection outcomes.”

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