WIREDGOV

Regulator demands immediate improvement.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has issued six formal warnings to Mr Mookesh and Mrs Renuka Oojageer, the registered providers that they must make urgent improvements to standards of care or face further action.  

The warning follows an unannounced visit by inspectors to Elm Lea Residential Home, in Hythe in July. This was the second unannounced inspection, a follow up on an inspection in April 2011 when CQC set 11 compliance actions relating to staffing levels, choice of food, cleanliness of the home, staff training, safety and suitability of the premises. 

Elm Lea Residential Home is a care home providing accommodation to people who require personal care. It caters for 15 older people.

Inspectors found that there were no cleaning arrangements detailing the standards of cleanliness required in each part of the home and a schedule of

cleaning was not available on the day of their visit. There was no designated cleaner, and staff that were on cooking duty were also expected to clean the home.

People reported a lack of choice of food, and there were no menus available. Despite people paying fees for the service, relatives were found to be buying food to supplement the service.

Inspectors found that there was a problem with rodent infestation and found mouse droppings in the laundry room and the kitchen.

In one of the public rooms, the ceiling was cracked and was starting to collapse. Carpets in the TV lounge had iron burn marks and were frayed and light bulbs were missing in the TV lounge and toilets.

No training records were available, and there was no evidence that staff had been appropriately trained to meet the needs of the people using the service.

There were not enough staff on duty. Inspectors noted that there was one care assistant who was the registered manager and one cook who was on the rota for that day as a senior care assistant to care for eight service users living in the home on the day of the inspection.

Roxy Boyce, Regional Director of CQC in the South East said: "The law says that these are the standards that everyone should be able to expect. Providers have a duty to ensure they are compliant.

“This warning sends a clear and public message that Elm Lea Residential Home needs to address this issue as a matter of urgency or face serious consequences.

“Our inspectors will return in the near future and if we find that it the provider is not making the required progress we won’t hesitate to use our legal powers to protect the people who use this service.”

For further information please contact the CQC press office on 0207 448 9239 or out of hours on 07917 232 143.

Notes to editors

CQC will publish further details of the inspectors' findings on its website at a later date.   

The warning notices requiring the provider to take action in relation to:

• Regulation 12, (1)(a)(b)(c), (2)(c)(i)Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2009, Cleanliness and hygiene
• Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b), Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2009, Food and nutrition
• Regulation 15. Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2009, (Outcome 9) Safety and suitability of premises.
• Regulation 15 (1)(c)(i)(ii). Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2009 Safety and suitability of premises
• Regulation 20. Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2009 Records
• Regulation 22. Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2009 Staffing