The Care Quality Commission has rated Moorhead Rest Home in Accrington, Lancashire as Inadequate, placed it in special measures, and issued three warning notices to protect people, following an inspection in August.

The home is run by M.M.R. Care and provides personal care for people living with dementia, physical disabilities, or sensory impairments. The home was previously managed by a different provider, whose care the CQC rated as Good.

The CQC issued three warning notices following the inspection to focus the provider’s attention on making significant improvements around effective management, staffing, and safe care.

The overall rating of the home as well as the areas of safe, caring, and well-led have now decreased from Good to Inadequate. Effective and responsive have decreased from Good to Requires improvement.

The business has also been placed in special measures, which means it will be kept under review and closely monitored while improvements are made to ensure people are safe.

The CQC’s director of operations in the North said Sheila Grant said: “When we inspected Moorhead Rest Home we found it was being poorly managed and safety issues had been missed by leaders, which put people at risk of harm.

“We found the home environment was unsafe. There were no window restrictors to reduce the risk of people falling out of windows and wardrobes weren’t secured to walls. People could access open cupboards with cleaning chemicals and electrical wires, and cluttered wheelchairs and walking frames made trip hazards in corridors.

“On the first day of inspection the lift was broken which meant some people had to stay in their bedrooms all day. Staff said it frequently broke down, but we found leaders didn’t have a plan in place to support people who couldn’t access the communal areas without the lift.

“Additional safety risks hadn’t been addressed. One person who was at high risk of falls didn’t have any additional checks or equipment in place to alert staff, such as falls sensor mats in their room. We also saw chipped paintwork throughout the home and rusty items including toilet frames, which would make effective cleaning and infection prevention difficult.

“There wasn’t enough staff to keep people safe and meet their needs. People were left unattended in communal areas for long periods of time and we were told staff didn’t always respond to requests for help in a timely manner. On the first day of inspection, there was a shortage of staff and agency staff only arrived in the afternoon.

“We also found medicines weren’t being managed safely. Staff left tablets out in two people’s bedrooms for them to take later, but there was no risk assessment to show this was safe. Staff who were trained to give medicines weren’t on duty overnight and although leaders audited how medicines were managed, they hadn’t identified the issues we found or recorded actions taken.

“We have told Moorhead Rest Home where we expect to see significant improvements and will continue to monitor them closely during this time to ensure people living at the home are safe. We will return to check on their progress and will not hesitate to take further action if we are not assured people are receiving the care they have a right to expect.”

Inspectors found:

• There were poor records to show if people had the capacity to consent. For example, two people were sharing a bedroom without appropriate consent in place.

• Not all safeguarding incidents had been reported or referred to the local authority or to the CQC. There was also little evidence the service learnt lessons when abuse was suspected.

• Food items beyond their ‘best before’ date were stored in the kitchen, one item was more than a year out of its ‘best before’ date, and staff’s personal belongings were stored on the floor beside food items. Various foods and liquids were open and not dated.

• People’s care records lacked detail, risk assessments were missing, and people weren’t always involved in planning their care. Records showed people had accidents and referrals to other health professionals were needed, but this did not always take place.

• Some equipment was not being checked regularly. Staff used hoists with slings to assist people, but there was no evidence the equipment was being regularly serviced, and we found one sling being used was visibly frayed, and nurse call bells were not regularly tested.

• Staff hadn’t received all training required for their roles, such as how to safely move people,

However, the CQC noted:

• People shared positive feedback on staff and inspectors witnessed staff being kind to people, treating people with dignity and people appeared relaxed around staff.

• Staff supported people who had concerns to express their views, however there was no evidence of recent feedback forms being completed by people or residents.

The report will be published on the CQC’s website shortly.