A disturbing new inspection of care homes has found that more than 200 across England are “inadequate” and a list shows the worst affected parts of the country.
At one care home residents were to not always receive “dignity and respect” while they were “at risk of neglect”.
An inspector found another home where people including those with dementia where “placed at risk of harm”.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England found that the highest number of inadequate care homes was in the South East with 42.
When inspectors visit a care home they look at five key areas which are whether the service is safe and effective, if it is well led and if staff are caring and compassionate.
After the South East then came East Midlands on the list with unsatisfactory conditions with 37 of its care homes and it was followed by East of England with 34 homes.
At the other end of the scale was the North East which had only two homes which failed followed by London with 17. The West Midlands had 23 inadequate, Yorkshire and the Humber 24, South West 25 and the North West 26.
Services are given one of four ratings, ranging from “outstanding”, meaning the service is performing exceptionally well, to “inadequate”, which means the CQC has taken action against the person or organisation that runs it.
While the South East overall did badly, the worst county was Kent which had 13 of its care homes failing the standards.
And in total across England there were 230 homes which did not make the grade at the latest inspection.
After visiting a care home in the South East, one CQC inspector found that “people were not always treated with dignity and respect”, adding that residents were “at risk of neglect and unsafe or inappropriate care or treatment”.
An inspector who visited another care home in the region found that “people, including those living with dementia, were not always safe and were placed at risk of harm”. That was “due to the condition of the environment” as well as poor infection control, medication management, and fire safety measures.
The majority of care homes rated as inadequate are operated by private companies who make up 84% of the sector according to the Institute for Public Research in 2019.
A CQC spokesperson said: “The majority of care homes in England are good or outstanding and this reflects the incredible efforts of care workers and providers who have gone above and beyond to provide high quality care.
“However, in some locations this is not the case. When our inspections find that people are not receiving care which meets their needs and expectations, we take regulatory action to ensure this improves.
“If people have concerns about the care they or their loved ones receive, we encourage them to share their experiences with us so we can respond.”
In addition to the number of care homes rated by the CQC as “inadequate”, there were also 2,500 that were found to “require improvement” at their latest inspection.
