Three unsafe care homes in Sandwich and Herne Bay shut down after 'distressing' revelations
14:40, 05 November 2021
updated: 16:58, 05 November 2021
Three failing Kent care homes branded unsafe have been shut down after inspectors discovered evidence of abuse at the sites.
Optima-run Eastry Villas and the Gate House, both in Sandwich, and 37 Spenser Road in Herne Bay have all closed and the Care Quality Commission has stripped them of their registration.
At each of the premises, the watchdog discovered residents had been unlawfully restrained. They rated the services inadequate, the worst score possible.
Meanwhile, two more Optima homes - Heron House and Shine Supported Living, both in Herne Bay - have been prevented from providing regulatory care after a string of concerning findings.
Debbie Ivanova, CQC deputy chief inspector for people with a learning disability, said: “We found evidence of abuse, closed cultures, unlawful use of restraint and a deprivation of people’s liberties across these services.
"It was clear that these homes were not a pleasant place to live, and vulnerable people were relying on staff to act as their advocates, and this simply wasn’t happening.
"We have rated each of these homes as inadequate and have prevented them from operating a regulated service – to protect people.
“I know this will have been a worrying time for the residents, their families and carers and I am sorry for the uncertainty and anxiety this situation must be causing them.
"However, these services were providing an unsafe, uncaring place for the people who lived in them to call home.
“This shows the CQC will not hesitate to take action where people aren’t being provided with the care that they deserve.”
All five services, which cared for people with a learning difficulties and autism, had been plunged into special measures following inspections earlier this year.
During a visit to Spenser Road in February, the watchdog concluded residents were "not safe and had been harmed", having "identified a number of incidents when there had been physical abuse from one person to another".
The assessors also noted there "were insufficient staff deployed to keep people from harm".
Some employees had not received training in autism, even though the service "specialised" in caring for people living with the condition.
And 10 workers had not received training in choking "despite the registered manager telling us that six people were at risk of choking".
"These inspection reports make for distressing reading," Ms Ivanova added.
"People were not receiving the care and support they needed to ensure their health, welfare and safety needs were met. The standard of care they were receiving placed them at risk of harm.
“It was clear during our inspections particularly of Gate House and Eastry Villas that some staff, including senior management, did not have the skills or expertise to provide support and care to people living in these homes, especially those with complex needs.
"Neither did staff have the skills to manage people’s distress and the resulting behaviours."
At Eastry Villas, inspectors found that on occasions "up to six members of staff were involved in restraining people, sometimes using techniques that were known to cause pain".
Residents reported feeling upset when they witnessed other people being manhandled.
And at the Gate House, the CQC discovered people had been "unlawfully restrained" by up to five carers.
The government body noted that residents were "at risk from staff and other people they lived with", adding that their "human rights were not upheld".
The under-fire firm's managing director, Louise Orr, stresses "appropriate measures" have been taken against employees implicated in the reports of the alleged abuse.
“We were deeply concerned and saddened by the CQC findings, which showed that our standards had deteriorated compared with much more positive findings of earlier inspections," she said.
“We have a zero-tolerance approach to the kind of behaviour and we took immediate action following the inspections.
"This included taking the decision to close the three homes and bringing in a new management team to oversee the improvements requested.
"We also worked with Kent County Council to find new placements for the people who lived in Eastry Villas, Gate House and Spenser Road, where alleged abuse happened, and we took appropriate measures against staff members implicated in the reports."
Optima has notified the CQC and KCC that it intends on keeping Heron House and Shine Supported Living open, but with both providing care outside the watchdog's regulatory remit.
Ms Orr says the company will continue to work with the county council "in an open and transparent way" to ensure the homes "return to the standards we expect".
The failing firm owns four other services in Kent, spread across Deal, Sandwich and Westgate on Sea. All of them have been rated "requires improvement" by the CQC.
“All of the remaining services rated below ‘good’ are now in the advanced stages of improvement and we are confident that the situation is no longer reflective of the reports at the time," Ms Orr added.
“We want to ensure that incidents like those highlighted by CQC can never happen again and have engaged external consultants in supporting the oversight and development of quality assurance and improvement.
"Optima Care have employed a previous CQC director, who was also the chair of the British Institute for Learning Disability, to support the services moving forward in providing quality person-centred care.”
Do you have concerns about the care a loved one has received from Optima? Email Jack Dyson on jdyson@thekmgroup.co.uk
