Morvern Care Centre shut down by Lancashire Fire and Rescue for 'extensive non-compliance' of fire safety

Morvern Care Centre on Cleveleys Promenade was ordered to make immediate improvements in September by care regulator Care Quality Commission (CQC) or risk closure, following an "inadequate" care rating.

A report published in April 2020 rated the home as "requires improvement", but inspectors in September said not enough improvements had been made.

The latest report published on November 24 by the health and social care watchdog outlined serious concerns about the safety of residents.

The home was allowed to stay open following inspection, and a new management team was brought in by owner Raj Shah.

But on Monday, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service (LFRS), issued a prohibition notice to the care home, forcing it to close immediately as a result of inadequate fire safety measures.

A spokesman for Lancashire Fire and Rescue said: "Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service issued a prohibition notice to the owners and operators of the Morvern Care Centre in Cleveleys on Monday December 7.

"This follows an inspection at the premises on the Promenade which highlighted significant concerns for the safety of staff and residents should a fire occur in the building.

"The home was recently placed under special measures by the Care Quality Commission and we were requested to evaluate fire safety standards.

"Our fire safety inspectors identified a range of fire safety management and maintenance issues. These findings are incompatible with a home that has such a high proportion of vulnerable residents who require assistance to escape if there is a fire.

"Whilst some improvements can be made in the short term the extent of non-compliance is extensive and requires lengthy remedial works. Temporary measures are in place in the short-term to protect residents, including elevated staffing numbers and dedicated fire wardens, however, these measures are intensive and can only be sustained for a short period of time.

"Prohibition notices are prepared and issued with great care and are only used in circumstances when the potential risk to life from fire is substantial and cannot be reduced quickly.

"The safety of residents and staff is at the heart of this decision making and this is why extensive liaison has taken place with the Care Quality Commission, Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council, to ensure that residents are kept safe in the short-term and that any subsequent impacts in terms of their future movements are safe, planned and undertaken in full liaison with families."

Due to the legal status of prohibition notices and the current investigation, LFRS was unable to specify exactly what the fire risks found at the home were.

Lancashire County Council's Adult Social Care team is now making arrangements to move around 40 residents into new care facilities across the county.

Tony Pounder, director of Adult Services at Lancashire County Council, said: "The safety of the residents of Morvern has to be our foremost concern and so council social workers are now contacting residents and their families to explain the position and provide information about alternative care homes which can accommodate them and meet their care needs.

"We know this will be an anxious time for all of the people living and working at Morvern but our staff will do everything we can to keep them safe and support them to make the right decisions about their future."

In the CQC's November report, an inspector, who visited the home after receiving concerns about the management of risk, safeguarding and the condition of the living environment, highlighted "widespread and systemic failings" there.

They said: "Although people told us they felt safe living at Morvern Care Centre, the service was not safe. Risk was not always assessed and managed to protect people from exposure to harm.

"Safeguarding processes were not always followed to minimise the risk of abuse. We could not be fully assured people got their medicines as directed.

"Medicines were not always managed safely and in line with good practice. Staffing levels were not always appropriate to meet the needs of people who lived at the home."

Hayley Moore, head of inspection for Adult Social Care for the Care Quality Commission, said: “CQC has worked very closely with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, Lancashire County Council and Blackpool Council with regards to Morven Care Centre, in Cleveleys, and the care and welfare of people using the service.

"Our priority remains the safety of those people living at this service and we have taken urgent action to suspend the registration of the provider.

"We took this action because we believe if we didn’t, people using the service may be exposed to the risk of harm.

"The provider has the right to appeal and further information will be published by CQC when we are able to do so.

"We are in touch with the provider and will continue to work with both the local authorities, the fire service and Blackpool and Fylde CCG."

Staff at Morvern Care were found by the CQC to not always be responsive and caring of people's needs, dietary needs were not consistently met, and dignity and respect were not always considered and promoted when staff communicated with residents.

People were not offered baths or showers in a timely manner, and those with dementia were left for large amounts of time without stimulus or activities.

Staff were also found not to have the correct training or skills to keep people safe.

But despite CQC's concerns around staffing levels, some of the residents' relatives said they were confident in the staff, and were shocked by the subsequent closure of the home.

Dennis Rogers from Cleveleys said staff at the home had been attentive to his 98-year-old mother, who "has dementia and is very frail."

He said: "The staff would ring me and let me know if my mother's condition changed, and they told me when she'd lost a lot of weight. They always seemed very helpful.

"But the home was in obvious need of repair, they would put a bucket in the lounge to catch the water when it had been raining."

Sandra Gleeson, from Thornton, said she was shocked when she read the CQC's September report - and was worried about her 89-year-old mother, who also had dementia.

She said: "The new management team they brought it were really good, but there wasn't enough staff.

"But I felt like my mum was stuck in a bit of a death trap. She can't walk well and she was on the top floor, so if there was a fire she would have struggled.

"Her bedroom was okay, it was newly decorated so she must have been one of the lucky ones. But I am worried about where she is going to go now, we haven't seen her properly for nine months because of the coronavirus.

"How did they let it get to this, how did it get so bad?"

Raj Shah, owner of Morvern Care Centre, was granted permission by Wyre Council in July to open a children's care home down the road from the home, on Coronation Road.

He intended to convert a vacant bungalow into a home for children in care, aged 10 to 17.

Mr Shah said: "Morvern Care Centre is a very old building and has been changed to accommodate the needs of residents in the last 30 years.

"We had a detailed fire safety audit last week. We have been updated with fire audit findings on Monday December 7 2020; here they informed us they deemed the Morvern Care Centre to be unsafe for residents.

"Fire authorities served enforcement notice and provided a three month time frame to make the building fire safety compliant. They have also issued prohibition notice to close the premises.

"CQC has suspended our registration for three months in line with the fire safety enforcement notice so we can do all needed fire safety work, including changes to building structure internally and changes of equipment, and approach back to CQC.

"We did try to work with the local care provider so we can keep residents in the care home and staff in to work but after further consultation, fire safety around the building is not about equipment and policies but its structure and the way it is configured, so we agreed to proceed for a smooth closure.

"We have three months to assess and complete all the work needed to make the building meet the fire safety compliance and will do everything possible to complete all enforcement action."

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