A care company has been branded “inadequate” after faeces was found in a toilet roll holder and a lack of action following a potentially serious house fire.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has placed Chatham-based Galilee Care Service, which looks after patients with dementia and physical disabilities in their own homes, under special measures.

The health watchdog uncovered seven regulatory breaches concerning safeguarding, safe care and treatment, staffing and management.

Complaints of staff acting rudely and roughly towards clients, “unexplained bruising” not being investigated and mismanagement of medicine were also highlighted.

The service’s overall rating and how safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led dropped from a “good” rating after the last inspection in November 2021 to “inadequate” across the board.

Serena Coleman, the CQC’s deputy director of operations in Kent, said: “When we visited Galilee Care, we were deeply concerned by the inadequate standard of care being provided.

“Poor leadership had created a service systematically failing vulnerable people.

“Another person found an overflowing bin and faeces wrapped in blue roll that had been put into an empty toilet roll holder in their house…”

“Our inspectors found people dealing with deeply distressing situations, like one person’s incontinence pad on their bed had not been changed regularly.

“[They were] forced to change this themselves even though it was physically difficult for them.

“Another person found an overflowing bin and faeces wrapped in blue roll that had been put into an empty toilet roll holder in their house.

“This is unacceptable, this is someone’s home and carers should be treating it as such.

“Staff were compromising people’s dignity daily. One person told our inspectors that they felt some staff mishandled them and treated them roughly.

“This was reflected in other complaints to the service, with reports of staff being rude and abrasive towards people.

“Alarmingly, none of these concerns had been raised as safeguarding issues with the local authority and unexplained bruising hadn’t been investigated internally.

“Staff weren’t even meeting people’s basic care needs or preferences.

“One relative told us they found their family member lying flat in bed with no pillows supporting them.

“They had requested that their family member not be laid down fully as they couldn’t reach drinks overnight.

“Risk management and fully populated care plans were virtually non-existent…”

“These are not minor oversights – they represent fundamental failures that put people at risk of dehydration and discomfort.

“Leaders did not support staff to keep people safe or give them the information needed to do their job.

“Risk management and fully populated care plans were virtually non-existent.

“Staff were sometimes given no information about clients other than an address and a key number to access their property.

“Leaders also set staff up for failure by not giving them enough travel time between calls meaning they were consistently late and had to rush through tasks rather than take the time needed to support people safely and compassionately.”

“This demonstrates a leadership team that recognised problems but took no effective action to address them…”

Inspectors learned how a proper risk assessment was not carried out after a house fire broke out at a resident’s home - “suggesting lessons had not been learned even after serious incidents”.

Ms Coleman said: “When we spoke to leaders at Galilee Care, particularly around the timing of care calls, they told us they knew the system was ineffective.

“This demonstrates a leadership team that recognised problems but took no effective action to address them.

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

“CQC has also begun the process of taking regulatory action, which the service has the right to appeal.”

KentOnline approached the manager of Galilee at its office in Hopewell Drive, Chatham, who declined to comment.

The full report will be published on the CQC’s website in the next few days.