‘Not a home you would like your mum to live in’: Worthing care home branded ‘inadequate’

Spring Lodge, in Madeira Avenue, Worthing, closed in December and was put up for sale shortly after the Care Quality Commission inspection, with its findings published this week.

Rating all aspects as ‘inadequate’, numerous concerns were raised around the management, treatment of residents and the general state of the home, which was ‘full of cobwebs’ and smelt of urine.

CQC inspector Adrian Hughes described the home as ‘unacceptable’ and said enforcement action would have been taken had the home not closed.

He said: “This was not the kind of home that any of us would like our mum, or any other loved one, to live in, and it is good news that it is no longer operating.

“We saw that the home was dirty, the management of medicines was dangerous, and there were not enough staff on duty at night to keep people safe.

“It is clearly not appropriate for toilet paper to be rationed to control challenging behaviour, or for people living with dementia to be told off and spoken about in a derogatory way if they do not behave themselves.”

Inspectors arrived unannounced on November 18 and 20, interviewing staff, relatives and patients.

Among the key issues were:

n Rationing of items including toilet paper and sanitary towels

n Incomplete care plans, with a risk residents would not receive the correct medication

n Residents at risk of malnutrition and dehydration

n Allegations of bullying by the registered manager

n A risk that residents were ‘illegally deprived of their liberty’