A damning report has revealed some of the failures of an Ottery care home and rated it as ‘inadequate’.
Industry watchdogs, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) made a surprise visit to Otteryhayes, in Salston Ride, on September 25. The inspector also returned on October 2, 3 and 8.
An inspector's report, which was published last week, said the inspection was prompted following concerns raised by whistle blowers.
Various sources reported issues in areas such as communication with people and families, access to finances, biased management of complaints, unsafe staffing levels, lack of person-centred activities, lack of best interest decision making processes, poorly managed safeguarding and overall poor management and support for staff.
Bosses at Otterhayes have expressed their disappointment at the rating and said they are taking 'all actions necessary'.
The inspector said during their inspection alone, they identified ten breaches in relation to safeguarding, safe care and treatment, medicines, staffing and recruitment, person-centred care, consent, dignity and respect, complaints, governance and notifications.
The inspector said they had to ask Otterhayes to make a safeguarding alert when an incident was raised during the inspection, relating to members of staff and inappropriate comments made on social media.
Otterhayes is a care home, in Salston Ride, and is owned by the charity The Otterhayes Trust and provides personal care and accommodation for up to six people living with learning disabilities, Down's syndrome and/or autism at Hayes House.
At the time of the inspection, five people were living at Hayes House and a further 15 were living in their own homes as tenants receiving support. The CQC rated Otterhayes as 'inadequate' in every category - safety, effectiveness, caring, responsiveness and well-led.
The report also included details about allegations that people living at Hayes House were at risk of unnecessary abuse or neglect.
Following the inspection, both staff and relatives contacted the CQC again to give more details about their concerns and the types of abuse they were alleging. This included physical, financial and institutional.
Full information about CQC's regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
A spokesman for Otterhayes said: "We are very disappointed with the outcome of the inspection and are taking all actions necessary on the issues raised so that we can get back to the "good" rating we had 18 months ago.
"We continue to have the full support of our staff."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here