Patients moved from Todmorden care home Asquith Hall amid 'culture of accepted neglect'

Asquith Hall has been rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), following an inspection in June.

Now provider Tributary Ltd, which runs the care home, has taken the decision to move everyone out and close this service.

Sheila Grant, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said: “When we inspected Asquith Hall, it was concerning to find a culture where neglect went unchallenged and people living there had to accept substandard care as normal.

“Vulnerable people were relying on all staff members to act as their advocates to help them live their best lives and it is unacceptable the people they relied on let them live like this."

The home provided personal and nursing care for 34 people at the time of the inspection, but had capacity to house 19 more. Inspectors were called amid concerns about safety.

Ms Grant, summarising the report, said patients were left alone for long periods of time - and in some cases in rooms which were "unfit for human habitation".

Staff didn't support people with enough to eat or drink, or with basic shower needs, and she said inspectors had found one person living in "squalid conditions".

"This hadn’t been challenged and nothing had been done to help the person affected," she added. “During the inspection one person told us, they thought the home was a horrible place and said it shouldn’t be called a care home because no caring took place there. These are heartbreaking words, and nobody should feel like this in a place they are supposed to be able to call home."

Patients are being supported to new homes by the council. The report will be published in coming days.

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