The daughter of a woman living at a failing South Liverpool care home has hit out at her treatment.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) last week confirmed it had placed Cressington Court Care Home on Beechwood Road in special measures after it was found that residents were at risk of malnutrition and dehydration while medications were not handled correctly. A litany of concerns were raised around medicine, staffing and clinical care.
These included one person not being bathed for four weeks as staff said “they didn’t have time” and another losing more than six stone in a six-month period. An inspection in March and April deemed the home’s overall rating as inadequate, with the safety, effectiveness, care and leadership of the service also called inadequate having already required improvement.
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One resident, Joan, was in Cressington Court for almost three years before her daughter Paula moved her to a new location this month. Paula told the ECHO that she was shocked by the treatment her mother experienced.
She said: “My mum was one of the residents that was moved and she was admitted to hospital during the pandemic. My sisters and I were called to the hospital and told she had malnutrition, was severely dehydrated and there was a great possibility she would die.
“We reported all of this to the safeguarding team but it seems nothing was followed up. My mum’s health deteriorated to such a degree she had to be moved to the nursing section where residents were basically looked after by young girls and boys from agencies and one or two experienced staff to fill in the gaps.”
In the CQC findings, Hayley Moore, the commission’s head of adult social care inspection, said the service “wasn’t well-led and the provider failed to make sure people received the person-centred, high quality care and treatment they deserve.” The report added that the CQC was “very worried about people’s safety for a number of reasons.”
Paula told the ECHO that her family were “devastated” that her mother was in the home for so long given the conditions the CQC identified. She said: “We thought she was going to die.
“Before the pandemic, mum was walking, dressing herself normally. Since then she’s in a wheelchair, the difference is unbelievable.
“We’re just devastated she was in there for so long.” Cressington Court will be monitored and re-inspected by the CQC within six months to assess whether required improvements have been made. If sufficient changes are not made, further action will be taken.
In a statement, Elaine Larkin, regional director at Lotus Care, who owns and operates Cressington Court care home, said: "As an organisation we are hugely disappointed following the findings of the latest inspection from CQC. We have been working closely with the CQC, the council and health partners for a number of weeks on providing assurance and improvement.
"A key focus has been to support the residents, families, and staff during this stressful time. Our organisation wants to give assurance that we are fully committed in making these improvements and will learn from when we get things wrong.
"We continue to have great pride and compassion when caring for the vulnerable residents in our care and are strengthening our processes in order to demonstrate sustainable improvement."
