An Ilkley care home is to close voluntarily after inspectors found "a disregard for people’s health and welfare which placed people at risk of harm and neglect".
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has taken action to protect people at Troutbeck Care Home in Ilkley following an inspection in November where the home was rated inadequate.
Troutbeck Care Home, run by Maria Mallaband Limited, provides personal and nursing care to up to 52 people, some of whom are living with dementia.
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about nutrition, people’s safety, wound care, and staffing levels.
Following the inspection, the overall rating for the home is inadequate, as well as the areas of safe, effective, responsive, caring and well-led. The service was previously rated good overall, and for being well-led, effective, responsive, and caring. Safe was previously rated requires improvement.
The service has been placed in special measures which means it will be kept under close review to make sure people are safe and, if CQC do not propose to cancel the provider's registration, there will be a re-inspection to check for significant improvements.
Sheila Grant, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said: “When we inspected Troutbeck Care Home, we found a service where standards had been allowed to slip. A poor culture had developed among staff at all levels, with some displaying a disregard for people’s health and welfare which placed people at risk of harm and neglect.
“It was very concerning to see that it had become normal for staff to ignore risks and incidents where people had come to harm, instead of acting on them. One person had been subject to repeated safeguarding incidents that staff had come to accept as the norm which is totally unacceptable.
“The attitude of staff towards people was poor, uncaring, and lacked empathy and respect. We saw one person showing signs of distress in their bedroom and staff just disregarded them and ignored their call bell.
“People were left for extended periods of time in communal areas with no staff present and people had no way to call for help if they needed it, or in an emergency. On two occasions our inspectors had to intervene to find staff to support people.
“We are aware that since the inspection the service has decided to close voluntarily and we will work with the service and the local authority to ensure the safe transfer and placement of individuals within the service.”
Inspectors found:
- Risks in the home environment which could cause harm such as hot water outlets and sharp edges hadn’t been identified or acted upon
- People weren’t always supported to have enough to eat and drink and people and their relatives made negative comments about the quality of the food
- People weren’t supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives
- Quality assurance systems at the home were ineffective
- Referrals hadn’t been made to other external healthcare professionals when necessary
A spokesperson for the Maria Mallaband Care Group told the BBC its own internal governance procedures had identified the issues at the home and they had been "immediately reported to the appropriate bodies".
The spokesperson said: "Unfortunately, due to the ongoing challenges experienced around staffing and recruitment, sufficient progress has not been achieved within the timescale to date.
"Therefore, clear and decisive management decisions have been made to voluntarily close the home and ensure the safe transfer of persons using the service as soon as possible with support from the local authority."
They said the "safety and comfort of those living in the home and their safe transfer to alternative accommodation which meets their care needs is our absolute priority".
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