A care home has been found to be ‘inadequate’ following an alarming recent inspection.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) concluded River Court care home, Watford, provided ‘inadequate’ care, as some elderly members were found with unexplained bruises or skin tears and other concerns for the wellbeing of the residents.

In the inspection which took place on June 18, 2019, the CQC found that the pensioners were not always supported safely when handled across the premises and they shared mixed feedback of the care home services.

The CQC report concluded that factors like the services safety, effectiveness and responsiveness ‘requires improvement’, while its caring and it being well-led was ‘inadequate’.

Alarmingly, staff were seen unsafely lifting some people under their arms which appeared to cause bruises and marks which were not made aware to the safeguarding team.

There was also a risk that people may be receiving foods which are incompatible to their dietary needs, as while there are records of each residents’ diet plans, they were not at hand when serving the meals.

In response to the report, a spokesperson for River Court care home said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our Residents is our number one priority, and we take all feedback from the Care Quality Commission very seriously.

“We were therefore deeply disappointed by the CQC’s findings from the inspection in June and we acknowledge we fell short of the high standards our Residents expect and rightfully deserve.

“We have a comprehensive action plan in place across the home, which is being overseen by our senior regional team. Relatives have regular opportunities to review their loved one’s care plan, and the team has been working exceptionally hard to get care right and demonstrate the improvements they are making.

Staff and residents also told the CQC inspectors that there was a need for more staff, as staff often appeared to be “rushed”.

Currently there are two nurses and six care staff working in the morning, and two nurses and only four care staff in the afternoon.

Since the report, River Court care home have promised that progress is being made. The spokesperson for the care home added: “A recent internal inspection has shown that the home has already made positive progress. We continue to work closely with the relevant authorities to make and sustain improvements, and we are confident we will have made further positive progress by our next inspection.”

The report of Rivers Court care home is a massive downgrade from their previous CQC inspection in August 2017, where the care home was rated ‘good’ with the only factor requiring improvement was the care homes responsiveness.