Vow to improve at Sutton care home where residents 'wore stained and dirty clothes'
A care home in Sutton insists it has its residents’ interests at heart after receiving scathing criticism from watchdog inspectors.
Forest Manor Care Home, on Mansfield Road, was served with two warning notices by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for failing to meet regulations on safe care, treatment and governance.
The CQC found that residents “consistently wore stained and dirty clothing” and were provided with only a limited amount of activities, which “affected their wellbeing”.
The home was handed an overall rating of ‘Requires Improvement’ and ordered to come up with an action plan to tackle the concerns identified in the CQC report.
Forest Manor is run by the Kirkby-based company ASHA Healthcare Ltd, who made it clear it “did not agree with all the findings”.
Nevertheless, a spokesperson stressed:”We are working in close partnership with the local authority, the local Integrated Care Board and the CQC to address shortfalls within the service.
"We take the safety and wellbeing of our service-users seriously, and this remains our priority.”
The CQC verdict, which also included a rating of ‘Inadequate’ for the category headed ‘Safe’, is likely to have come as a huge shock to ASHA, which was established more than three decades ago.
In recent years, the company has won several awards, while its management team draws on many years of experience within the industry.
Forest Manor provides care and support for people over 18 with mental health conditions, physical disabilities and dementia. At the time of the inspection, there were 48 residents living there.
The CQC report said: “The home was rated ‘Good’ in 2022. But we undertook this latest assessment as we received concerns in relation to staffing and the quality of care being provided.
"We found areas of concern and identified three breaches of regulation. The service was not meeting people’s needs and expectations safely.
"The care delivered was not person-centred, and there were inadequate quality-monitoring processes in place.
"Residents spent large amounts of time unsupervised in communal areas, and staff did not support them effectively.
“They told us that staff were kind and friendly, and all relatives were confident management would respond to any concerns. But residents did not always receive their care in a timely manner.
"We have taken enforcement action and asked the provider to make improvements in these areas.”