A care home in Mitcham has been rated ‘Inadequate’ after inspectors found no toilet paper in bathrooms, no working emergency bell system and insufficient numbers of staff.

The Greenfield Care Home, in London Road, which provides accommodation for up to nine adults requiring nursing or personal care, and specialises in learning disabilities, has been heavily criticised in a recent Care Quality Commission (CQC) report.

The CQC report noted ‘people were not able to alert staff to receive the help they needed if they were at risk of harm or injury’, as the emergency bell system to call for help did not work and had not worked for some time.

It said there was a risk of infection, as only one bathroom contained toilet paper and none had hand wash, soap or hand towels despite adequate supplies in the store room. Inspectors were told this was so residents did not eat the paper. The report also criticised the overall level of cleanliness in the Home, including showerheads encrusted with lime scale and dirty windows.

The CQC also noted the lack of staff, with the norm being just two members of staff to care for nine people – four of whom needed two staff to help with personal care and another two who needed two staff to work a hoist to move them, meaning some residents were left unattended while others were cared for.

Wimbledon Times:

Staff often did not have adequate rest between shifts, with some working 18 and a half hours continuously and others having just five hour breaks between shifts.

Records showed most people rarely left the Home apart from a short walk to the local shops, going to the day centre or visiting family, as there were not enough staff to take them out.

Although the CQC commended the care and support provided by staff, it added no staff had completed an available training course in supporting people in learning disabilities, and none had been trained to communicate in the sign language Makaton, despite the need of residents.

The report said: ‘We saw one person who was anxious signing to staff their needs. We saw staff struggled to understand the person and to communicate better with them to allay the person’s anxiety.

‘While staff were individually caring to people, the provider was not that caring. They had not ensured that people were always cared for in a way that was respectful and which promoted their dignity.’

It also noted windows left wide open with no restrictors, a sharp metal pole left in a bedroom, out of date food in kitchens and food stored in a cupboard under the sink that also contained cleaning equipment.

The Home was rated Inadequate following an unannounced inspection on April 19 and April 21 this year. This took place after an inspection on December 8 and December 11, 2014, which had rated the service as ‘Requires Improvement’.

However, Manager of Greenfield Care Home, John Welbeck, said the Home was reinspected on August 2 this year, and he is “confident” their rating has now improved.

Mr Welbeck said: “We have made a lot of changes and they were impressed.

“They said some things were unsafe that we were already working on when they came, and now we have made sure we have done a really good job.”

Mr Welbeck said changes included making sure four staff are on duty at all time, fixing the emergency call bell system, redecorating and ensuring toilet roll is provided in bathrooms.

A spokesman for CQC said: “The report on our website and the press release we published are both accurate.

“However, we have recently reinspected and we are drafting that report, which will be published in due course. It may well be that the rating changes when the time comes to publish that inspection report, but we can’t pre-empt that.”

To read the full report, click here. 

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