A town centre care home has been placed into special measures following concerns about residents' safety.
Marina Care Home in Southport has been deemed inadequate following a recent CQC inspection, with the report stating that the home was relying on a sister care home for staff and staff members becoming "exhausted" which led to minor errors. As well as this, when members of agency staff were brought in to help, they failed to receive an adequate induction to familiarise themselves with the needs of those in the home.
The fire safety measures at the home were also deemed below an acceptable standard, with some rooms having differing fire plans to the ones in place, as well as some fire doors not closing properly, despite being flagged 13 days prior. Despite the damning report, the CQC found that people's diversity and equality needs were recorded and staff were kind and caring when supporting people.
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The care home provides care for up to 33 people, with some living with dementia, and concerns were raised over the staffing levels, safeguarding and cleanliness. The care home’s overall rating has dropped from requires improvement to inadequate. The service was also rated inadequate for being safe, effective, and well-led, and rated requires improvement for being caring and responsive.
Hayley Moore, CQC head of inspection, said: “When we inspected Marina Care Home, we found a service where the standard of care had deteriorated since our last inspection. People’s basic safety and well-being needs weren’t always being met, and risks weren’t effectively managed.
“For example, people needing support with drinking had to wait long periods of time to get a drink. Fluid records showed gaps of up to 17 hours between drinks being offered which is totally unacceptable and placed people at harm. We saw a person needing a soft textured diet being given undercooked vegetables.
"We saw food which was too large and undercooked for a fork to go into it which posed a serious choking risk. We also saw staff place a hot meal on a person's knee in the lounge, the person was not able to manage this and was at risk of being burned until another staff member intervened.
“People were not protected against the risks from infection due to furniture in several bedrooms and communal areas being heavily soiled. In addition, people weren’t supported to clean their hands before mealtimes, there were no napkins available, and we saw a person trying to flick food off their fingers.
“In addition, safeguarding incidents, including injuries, which should have been raised with the local authority and CQC had not been raised on several occasions which put people at an increased risk of harm and meant no lessons were being learned to prevent reoccurrence.
“We will continue to monitor Marina Care Home closely to ensure people are safe. If we are not assured people are receiving safe care, we will not hesitate to take action.”
A spokesperson for Marina Care Home said: "Marina Care Home are very disappointed with the recent CQC findings and are working with the recommended relevant parties by the CQC to make the required rating.
"We are under new management and with our dedicated team we are staying positive, focused and keeping family members updated. Improvements have been seen by adult social workers. We welcomed their support and are working together towards positive changes to help get back to the high standards that Marina Care Home strive for.
"Marina Care Home has always prided itself in providing the highest quality of care and 'enriched' lifestyles for everyone who lives here. Our residents' well-being and welfare has and always will be our primary priority.
"We are grateful to CQC, and other professionals for their support they are providing us."
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