Care home in Spilsby closed down after residents found to be 'at risk of abuse'
A residential care home in Spilsby has been closed down after a probe found that residents were “at risk of abuse and improper treatment”.
Welham House, which cares for up to 13 adults under 65 who have a learning disability or autism, was branded ‘Inadequate’ after an unannounced inspection during the summer by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
This followed a review ten months earlier when inspectors found that residents were “disproportionately physically restrained” by angry staff and “punished” to control their behaviour.
At that time, the CQC placed the home in ‘special measures, saying staff “didn’t know how to respond to residents in distress”, which was “unacceptable and “needed addressing immediately”.
The Hundleby Road home’s owners, Boulevard Care Ltd, also based in Spilsby, said it was “committed to improving” and promised “positive changes”.
But after the latest damning inspection, Boulevard has shut the home’s doors and moved residents to “alternative facilities”.
The CQC’s report said: “Residents did not always feel safe. We found they were not always protected from the risk of abuse and improper treatment.
"There were significant shortfalls, and we found seven breaches of regulation in the governance and management of Welham House.”
The inspectors found that “medicines were not safely managed” and residents and relatives were “not always happy with the care and support they received”.
"Risks were not identified, managed or monitored to ensure people were safe,” the report went on.
"Residents were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests.”
A spokesperson for Boulevard Care said: “Resident safety is our number one priority and as soon as we became aware of issues at Welham House, we took immediate action, working with the CQC, local authority and our external advisers to put things right.
"We have a strong track-record for excellent care across our group and were left disappointed by the findings of the CQC’s assessment.
"We have since closed the care home as a result and worked with the authorities to ensure that all of our residents were properly cared for and moved to alternative facilities.
“We are very sorry for the disruption and any upset that this has caused to our residents and their families.”