'Visibly unclean' Cleveleys care home left resident sitting in 'soiled clothing', CQC report reveals

SONACare care home in Stockdove Way, Cleveleys, was given an overall rating of "requires improvement" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection in March.

But the watchdog deemed safety at the home to be "inadequate," after uncovering numerous incidents which it said posed a risk to people's health.

Chewing gum was found stuck underneath a dining table, a resident was left sitting in soiled clothing and another was eating a biscuit, despite staff being advised they should not eat hard foods following a speech and language therapist (SALT) assessment, documents showed.

When questioned, the manager and care provider told inspectors "the person dipped biscuits in their drink and staff should be present when the person ate," but "on one occasion, [we] saw the person was left alone while they ate a hard biscuit which they had not dipped in their drink. This placed the person at risk of avoidable harm."

Leaving a person in soiled clothing put them "at increased risk of skin damage," the CQC added.

The rear of the lounge also had "long cardboard boxes, a weighing chair, two wheelchairs and three walking frames. These were accessible if people walked to the rear of the lounge," which "posed a risk of falls if people entered the area."

Inspectors found the home to be "visibly unclean," after finding that "a pull cord for a light was dirty, a divan base had brown stains on it and the kitchen required cleaning."

The CQC inspected SONAcare, which provided care for 13 people at the time of inspection, after receiving concerns about "medicines, the provision of meals, the environment and care provided."

The care home's overall rating dropped from "good" at its previous inspection in 2019, to "requires improvement."

Aspects of the care provision inspected included whether it was well-led, and how safe it was. It was subsequently rated "inadequate" for safety and "requires improvement" for well-led.

Although the watchdog said it had found "no evidence that people had been harmed," it reported that the running of the service needed improvement.

Inspectors reported: "Staff stored care records in a communal area in an unlocked cupboard, with further personal care records stored on top of the cupboard.

"This meant private and sensitive information was accessible to people who were not authorised to read it.

"Staff had completed an activity record in advance. We saw no activities took place on the morning of the inspection, however the activity record recorded activities had taken place.

"Care records did not always contain sufficient information to enable staff to give the care people needed."

However, SONACare moved to rectify these issues, the CQC said, taking "swift action during the inspection process to reduce risks and improve the service."

No issues were found with medicines management or staff training, however some "poor practice" by staff was identified.

One staff member was suspended from working there after the CQC raised concerns that "they did not sufficiently intervene to protect a person at the home from verbal abuse from another person at the home," and "they also continued to help a person eat when the help was declined."

The care home has been asked to provide the CQC with an action plan, to outline how it will tackle the current breaches in regulations.

These include good governance, staffing, and safe care and treatment.

A spokesman for SONACare said: "Following to our recent CQC inspection, we have now rectified all the concerns raised and continue to further improve our care service.

"We have since had visits from infection control, fire authorities and environmental health and we have actioned all their advice.

"We believe the lessons learned will better our home going forward and we aim to return to our good rating."