CQC takes action at Wallasey care home to protect people

The Seabank House, in Wallasey, Merseyside, has been rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and placed in special measures to protect people, following an inspection carried out in May.

Seabank House provides accommodation and personal care to nine autistic people and people with a learning disability, at the time of assessment the provider was supporting seven people.

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns raised with CQC by external partners around the management and safety of the service.

Following the inspection CQC took urgent action to suspend the service in May. The local authority had also acted to suspend the service, preventing further people from being admitted to the home. In response to the action that was taken, the local authority moved the seven people living there to other services and cancelled their contract with Seabank House. Seabank House remains closed pending a decision from the owner about whether they are able to make the necessary improvements to keep people safe.

The home's overall rating has dropped from good to inadequate, as have its ratings for being safe and well-led. Its ratings for being effective, responsive and caring were not rated at this inspection and remain as good.

Karen Knapton, CQC deputy director of operations in the north west, said:

"When we inspected Seabank House, we found a poor level of management and leadership across the home with inadequate systems to keep people safe.

"The manager couldn't demonstrate they understood good safeguarding practices and were unaware of the recent safeguarding cases in the home which staff had told us about. These recent safeguarding referrals hadn't been investigated or acted on by the manager putting people's safety at risk.

"We weren't assured staff were giving people their medicines safely as we found stock discrepancies and incomplete medicine charts. Also, care plans lacked detail on how to support people with other basic care needs who lived at the home, such as those needing support with diabetes, epilepsy and pressure wound care.

"The home's environment wasn't clean or safe. People were at risk of falling from a vertical drop in the garden to the driveway, which was only partially covered by a railing. The first-floor fire escape door wasn't alarmed and the exit was blocked. All of this was highlighted to the manager during inspection, but by the third day of the inspection, they still hadn't been addressed. We were so concerned about people's safety in an emergency, we reported Seabank House to the local fire service.

"There was an unlocked storage room which anyone could access which was dirty and cluttered and smelt strongly of damp. The ceiling had partially collapsed with insulation hanging down and debris on the floor. Open tins of paint were stored next to incontinence products and nutritional supplement drinks. Black mould was also found on the ceiling in the main hall and cat faeces was found on the floor upstairs.

"Wirral Council have cancelled their contact with the service and the people living there were moved to more appropriate settings. We continue to engage with external partners and the owners of Seabank House about whether they are able to make the widespread and rapid changes needed to admit people in future."

Inspectors found:

• Safety risks to people were not managed effectively
• Staff had not always received the training required to keep people safe
• The service failed to improve areas identified by external agencies such as the local authority
• Safe recruitment processes were not always followed; therefore, the provider could not be sure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people
• People's care plans were not up to date and did not accurately reflect their needs and support requirements.