Kidderminster care home placed in special measures over safety concerns
A care home for people with learning disabilities has been placed into special measures after an inspection found residents were not protected from potential financial abuse.The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it made immediate referrals to police after it found unaccounted spending on some people's financial records at Mariantonia House Residential Care Home in Kidderminster, Worcestershire.The overall rating for the home has been downgraded to "inadequate", with inspectors restricting new admissions due to "serious safety concerns".The BBC has contacted Mariantonia House for comment.
Inspectors said actions had been taken to safeguard residents' financial safety following inspections at the residential home, which also cares for people with mental health conditions, in July and September.Craig Howarth, CQC deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said "poor leadership" had led to people being "at risk of potential abuse and unsafe care"."People weren't protected from potential financial abuse in a place they call their home. "We found anomalies with some people's financial records which showed unaccounted spending," he said."We made immediate referrals to the police and local authority safeguarding team who have reviewed these incidents."The CQC said Mariantonia House's overall rating, as well as the ratings for being safe, caring, effective, responsive and well-led, had dropped from "good" to "inadequate" following the inspection.
'Closed culture'
Inspectors said not all staff at the care home had been safely recruited and mandatory training around working with autistic people and those with learning disabilities had not been completed.Parts of the 13-bed residential care home were also unsafe, such as furniture not secured in bedrooms which posed a risk of falling onto people.In a report, the health watchdog said it also found "several breaches" of Health and Social Care Act regulations relating to safeguarding from abuse and improper treatment, with signs of a "closed culture" at the service.One person who was at risk of choking had no guidance in their care plan to show staff how to puree food, and another person at risk of falls had no support plan in place.Mr Howarth said it was "unacceptable" that staff at the service had described residents in a "derogatory and disrespectful manner" in their care notes, such as referring to them as rude or having the behaviour of a child.The service will be monitored by the CQC to check improvements have been made."We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid, and continued improvements and will continue to monitor the home closely to keep people safe during this time," Mr Howarth added.
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