The Care Quality Commission have rated Amicus Care Home Limited, as inadequate, following a series of inspections in August.
CQC inspectors found Amicus Care Home Limited in Strood, Kent was inadequate for being safe, effective, responsive and well-led, while rating it requires improvement for caring.
Read the full report and ratings for all key services.
Amicus Care Home Limited provides accommodation and personal care for up to 18 people. Some were older people living with dementia, some had mobility difficulties and sensory impairments.
Debbie Ivanova, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, said:
"From the poor standards of care identified on our inspection and the lack of effective leadership of the service we had no choice other than to take action. We have rated Amicus Care Home Limited as inadequate and placed it into Special Measures. Our priority is to ensure the safety and welfare of people receiving services at all times and it is unacceptable that the provider had not taken proper steps to ensure residents safety or to provide people living at the home with care that meets their needs. We are also considering what further enforcement maybe appropriate to the breaches in regulation we found at Amicus Care Home Limited."
Inspectors found medicines had not been administered, recorded or stored effectively. People had not always received medicines that had been prescribed for them which put them at risk of harm. This was reported by CQC to the local authority safeguarding team as a risk.
The provider did not always follow safe recruitment practice. Essential documentation was not available for all staff employed. Gaps in employment history had not been explored to check staff suitability for their role.
Fire escape routes were not suitable for people living in the home, one fire escape was blocked with laundry and one fire escape was not safe to use. These concerns were reported to the local fire service.
People did not always received food and drink in a safe way following the guidance that had been given by healthcare professionals. This meant people did not receive suitable nutrition and hydration to meet their needs. Records did not evidence what action had been taken when people had lost weight. Food stocks were found to be low, and staff told inspectors this was a frequent problem.
People's health needs were not always managed quickly or effectively so they did not always have access to health professionals when they needed it. Added to this people had not always been treated with dignity and respect and their preferences were not always listened to.
Overall the home had been extremely poorly managed and there was a lack of action when the home failed to improve in identified areas.
To get to the heart of people's experiences of care, we always ask the following five questions of services.
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For further information please contact CQC Regional Engagement Manager John Scott on 07789 875 809 or, for media enquiries, call the press office on 020 7448 9401 during office hours. Journalists wishing to speak to the press office outside of office hours can find out how to contact the team here. (Please note: the duty press officer is unable to advise members of the public on health or social care matters). For general enquiries, please call 03000 61 61 61