Hull care home placed in special measures amid warnings over safeguarding

The Rowans Care Home, run by the National Care Consortium Ltd, cares for up to 53 adults and some of whom are living with dementia or mental health conditions.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission visited in February and March, finding five breaches of regulation around safe care and treatment, safeguarding and governance.

The home's overall rating has now been dropped from good to inadequate.

Linda Hirst, deputy director of operations in the north, said the quality of care had "significantly deteriorated".

Leaders lacked understanding of the challenges the service faced, and just what improvements were needed to keep people safe.

“Our inspection team found that leaders ignored safety concerns, and didn’t investigate incidents, so the home could identify areas of learning and improvement," she added.

Ms Hirst, as one example, said inspectors had to make four safeguarding referrals on their visit because people weren't receiving the right medicine or appropriate personal care. Staffing levels were such they couldn't meet people's basic care needs.

"During our visit someone was left in bed until lunch time, as there was no staff available to help them get up," she added. "This is totally unacceptable and people living at The Rowans Care Home deserve better choice and control of their lives.

“Staff also lacked understanding on how to support people who were living with dementia in a respectful way, particularly when they became distressed.

"It was concerning that during our visit, someone became distressed and had to be supported by a visitor as no staff were around to support them and give them the care they needed."

Individual ratings for safety and leadership have dropped from good to inadequate. Ratings for being effective, caring and responsive declined from good to requires improvement.

The report will be published on CQC’s website in coming days.