Care home in 'special measures' after second damning inspection by watchdog

Last summer, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) served a warning notice on the privately-run Fitzwilliam Care Centre for failing to meet regulations for keeping residents safe and healthy.

The 62-bed home, which sits in the heart of town on Centenary Close, was challenged to come up with an action plan after an inspection raised serious concerns and awarded a rating of ‘Requires Improvement’.

However, a follow-up visit by the CQC in October failed to find “sufficient improvements” and the home has how been placed in ‘special measures’.

This is a framework within which the CQC uses its “enforcement powers in response to inadequate care” and provides a time-frame in which the home must get better.

Fitzwilliam Care Centre, which opened only three years ago, provides specialised support for people of all ages who are living with dementia, mental health conditions and physical disabilities.

At the time of the latest inspection, there were 41 residents, some of whom had additional needs because of alcohol and/or drug misuse.

The home is run by Mablethorpe Care Ltd, whose sole director, according to Companies House, is 60-year-old Mike Bullas.

The CQC report said the provider was in breach of nine legal regulations and residents were “not consistently safe”. The home’s rating has now been downgraded to ‘Inadequate’, both overall and in all five individual categories.

The report blasted: “Recruitment had improved but staffing remained insufficient for safe care, especially during outings or emergencies.

"Medicines management showed progress, but stock errors and missed doses continued, risking incorrect administration. Clinical procedures lacked oversight by competent staff.

"The environment was clean but not dementia-friendly, with unresolved hazards such as broken doors and fire-alarm faults.

"Safeguarding was inconsistent, with incidents under-reported and little evidence of learning.

"Staff lacked skills in consent, mental-health monitoring and distress response.

"Care plans and risk assessments were not person-centred or consistently accurate, while training of staff lacked competency checks and follow-up.”

The inspectors found that the home was “not consistently caring”. While some residents and relatives described staff as kind, others “reported dismissive behaviour and unmet needs”.

Leadership “remained ineffective”, with the CQC saying the manager of the home “lacked understanding of regulatory responsibilities and best practice”.

Inspectors spoke to 13 residents and 19 relatives, receiving “mixed feedback”. While some living downstairs said they were happy, well-treated and safe, others expressed concerns and the CQC concluded that “care did not meet the expected standards, although some improvements had been made”.

Upstairs at the home, where 23 people were living with complex mental-health conditions, the feedback was “all negative”.

"They did not feel safe or supported and some said they were actively making plans with their social worker to move,” said the report.

The CQC also found that some residents “did not always feel able to raise concerns or complaints” because they weren’t confident they would be listened to.

Moreover, some felt there was “a lack of meaningful ways to spend their time”, with "staff not encouraging them to learn new skills to develop their independence”.

As for the staff themselves, the inspectors discovered that some felt supported by management but others “reported high pressure and poor mental health due to workload”.

When the care centre was contacted, it said it did not want to comment on the CQC report. Mr Bullas could not be contacted but, previously, Mablethorpe Care Ltd has also declined to comment.

The CQC findings contrast sharply with reviews by relatives on the Carehome.co.uk website, where Fitzwilliam receives an average score of 8.2 out of ten.