A ROMSEY care home has been rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) due to a lack of staff and poor living conditions.

Timaru, in Greatbridge Road, is a home for six adults with learning difficulties and was last inspected in 2017 and rated as good.

But it has now been placed in special measures and will be re-inspected later this year.

However, when inspectors visited on September 29 and October 6 last year, they had concerns.

The report, published on April 6, said: “Due to the significant turnover in staffing we could not be assured people consistently received care and support from staff who knew their needs and understood the risks associated with their care.

“The provider failed to assist staff to undertake training and ongoing learning and development to enable them to fulfil the requirements of their role. Agency staff had not always received training specific to people's diagnosed conditions and there were no learning and development plans in place to support their training and development needs

“People were not always treated with dignity. On numerous occasions during our inspection we found staff failing to engage with people whilst sitting on chairs looking at their mobile phones. We brought this to the attention of the manager who told us this was not acceptable.

“Whilst the manager was open and transparent with us, we could not be assured accidents, incidents and notifiable incidents were always reported and investigated appropriately. This was because we did not have confidence in the organisation's governance systems.”

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The report raised issues over the conditions of the bedrooms. It said: “One person's mattress was ripped with its foam exposed. Another person had mould in their bathroom and a broken radiator cover. Another person's floor needed to be replaced and the flooring in the laundry room also needed to be replaced. 

“A member of staff told us two people's rooms smelt of damp and in one of their rooms it smelt of sewage. 

“They advised us the flooring in the conservatory posed a risk to people when wet as it became a slip hazard. 

“Other concerns raised related to cracks in walls, panels falling off in the laundry room and ceiling lights not being fixed.”

A spokesperson for Liaise, which operates the home, said: “The safety and wellbeing of the people we support and our staff are our top priorities and we are disappointed when we fall below our high standards.   

“We have put in place a robust action plan in response to the CQC’s findings and we are already working with the CQC and Local Authority partners to ensure the highest quality of service at this home. Like most providers in the sector, recruitment and retention of staff is a key priority for Liaise. Where we use agency staff in our support services we ensure we work with the highest quality people possible.”

As it is in special measures it will be inspected again in six months.