A care home boss has been banished from her former premises following disturbing allegations of verbal abuse, poor treatment and coercive behaviour. Mary B Rushe, who ran Rushes House, in Marple, was barred from the property by Stockport council bosses after new staff raised concerns over the care and treatment of people at the home. She also applied to deregister the service at the time of the inspection
The local authority immediately acted to safeguard residents at the St Martins Road home as it launched its investigations. Ms Rushe agreed to have no contact with people living at the home, their relatives or staff. A new provider has begun the process of registeration to ensure people can remain living at the home.
Bosses alerted the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to the worrying situation, citing allegations of institutional abuse, unsafe management of medicines and an unsafe and unclean environment. This prompted the watchdog to carry out a three day inspection of the home, which cares for up to 17 older people, some of whom are living with dementia.
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A recently published CQC report says a new staff team is now providing kind and compassionate care and - with support from the council - has begun to make improvements. However, it concentrates on the evidence inspectors found about ‘the care and treatment provided to people by the registered person [Mary B Rushe], prior to the new team's arrival, and the ongoing matters that remain to be addressed’.
Officials uncovered a catalogue of failings encompassing everything from safeguarding, treating people with respect and the safe management of medicines, to nutrition, infection control and staff training. Among the most disturbing findings is that people had not always been protected from the risk of abuse.
“We received allegations that people had been subject to institutional abuse by the registered individual [Ms Rushe],” the report states. "This included visiting and other restrictions, lack of choice, inappropriate use of control and verbal abuse.” Officials found that people had ‘not always been treated with dignity and respect’. Some told inspectors ‘they were under the control of the registered individual [Ms Rushe] and they were fearful of consequences for them'.
One person told officials: "The atmosphere is better now [Name] has gone and more relaxed and I can say what I want and ask for a cup of tea. Life here was the worst mess I've ever been in.” The report also reveals that another resident ‘had not received medical attention for several days’ after falling from their bed and sustaining injuries, while another had not received a referral despite suffering frequent falls.
It reads: “People had been exposed to serious risk of harm due to a lack of person-centred risk assessments or risk management plans. Risk assessments were either not completed, not accurate or reflective of people's current needs, or detailed enough to guide staff on how to safely support people.”
The report continues: “There was no evidence that accidents and incidents were thoroughly investigated, and actions taken to mitigate future risk. Where people had risks to their health and safety, there were no measures in place to reduce the risk.”
Feedback from people and relatives about the treatment of people at Rushes House was said to be ‘consistently poor’. The report adds “One relative told us they had recently bought their family member new clothes and they had all gone missing.
"They said, "[Name's] glasses went missing, her teeth went missing." They told us they spoke with the registered individual who commented, "Well, [Name] doesn't need their teeth." Inspectors saw no evidence that people's individual and specific needs had been assessed and acted upon.
They found that people were at risk from unsafe medicine management, had unclean and smelly bedrooms and reported further concerns over infection prevention and control.The home had also not sought advice from a dietician for people who were at risk of malnutrition.
Councillor Keith Holloway, Stockport council’s cabinet member for health and adult social care, said that staff members alerted the council to safeguarding concerns at Rushes House in early September. He said: “Since then, the council has worked closely with Rushes House, its staff, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), residents and their families to ensure that the immediate concerns were addressed and the quality of care was significantly improved.
“The published CQC report from an inspection [on September 27 to 29] sets out the concerns that were shared by the council with CQC in September 2022. Rushes House, previously rated Good by the CQC in 2019, is currently working towards an agreed improvement plan.
"The council will continue to work closely with CQC to monitor improvements closely and will continue to seek feedback from the residents and their families throughout this process to ensure the safety and well-being of the residents of Rushes House.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service has been unable to contact Ms Rushe for comment.
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