A Maidstone care home is failing in all areas, according to a report published by the Care Quality Commission yesterday.

Inspectors found that the safety and care given to residents at Mont Calm Residential Home was inadequate, as was the premises’ management, effectiveness of staff and responsiveness to issues.

The findings come from an unannounced visit to the Bower Mount Road care home in January.

A spokesman from M H L Health Care Limited, which runs the home, said: “We are very disappointed with the CQC inspection report.

“We are currently going through a transitional process. The provider is working to ensure action is being taken in all the aspects of care and safety of residents at Mont Calm.

“We are working very closely with relatives, health care professionals, safe guarding and the CQC.

“New training programmes have been put in place for existing and new staff to improve person centre care for dementia.

“Residents safety and care is the top priority. We have taken every step to ensure that their dignity and privacy needs are met. Significant time has been spent updating and refurbishing the home.”

The care home can provide care for up to 39 residents but there were 27 at the time of the visit, many of whom had some form of dementia.

During the visit inspectors found that people were not safeguarded against abuse, with one new resident moved into a room with a patient who was a risk to others because they behaved badly when unsettled.

It was also found that some residents did not always receive the medicine they needed.

In one instance a resident began putting themselves at harm because they were not being treated for pain they were experiencing.

However, in most cases it was found that medication was correctly administered and kept secure.

Staff training was also an issue, with 21 employees receiving no recent training on nutrition and 18 had no up to date medical training.

On top of this the records showed no members of staff had been taught how to promote people’s privacy and dignity.

Further to these issues it was found that complaints were not dealt with quickly and that communication between staff was poor.

Advice from health professionals was not followed and patients were not protected from the risk of malnutrition or dehydration.

Despite the failings inspectors did say that most staff were kind, caring and patient in their approach and had built a good rapport with people.

To view the report in full click here