Concerns over ‘disrespectful’ language at Littlehampton care home

Brockenhurst in Arundel Road, Littlehampton, was rated as ‘requires improvement’ in all areas by the Care Quality Commission in a report published on October 1, after an unannounced inspection in May. This is the third time in a row the care home has got the second-lowest rating, according to the report.

The report said: “We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good.

“We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.”

According to the report, inspectors looked at three staff files and found that one staff member did not have a Disclosure and Barring Service check, which lets a person to work with vulnerable people.

After telling Mrs Matthews, the care provider and manager of the home, this was ‘rectified straight away’ and an audit of all staff files for DBS checks was carried out.

Inspectors also had concerns about ‘disrespectful terms to describe people’s needs’ by staff.

The report said: “Staff referred to people as ‘feeds’ or ‘feeders’ if the person needed one to one support to eat or ‘wanderers’ if the person was living with a condition such as dementia and the person wanted to walk around freely.

“People were referred to by staff as ‘love’ or ‘darling’ rather than by their chosen name.”

The provider said they challenged staff when they heard this language and efforts were being made to improve, but the impact of this would not be seen until the next inspection, the report said.

Mrs Matthews did not wish to comment.

To read the report in full, click here.