Care residents at risk of scalding showers – CQC.
A care home was demoted to substandard after inspectors discovered that residents were at risk of being scalded by the showers.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) also discovered that all of the fire doors at Mulberry House in Barton Road, Luton, were defective.
The regulator has placed the home, which has eight bedrooms for persons with learning disabilities, under special measures and will take further action if improvements are not made. The home’s proprietors, Complete Care Services, have been contacted for comment.
Mulberry House was rated as “requiring improvement” by the CQC in 2023, and the website stated that the proprietors had “already made the necessary improvements and [was] awaiting reinspection”. Inspectors who visited in May disagreed, finding that the care home did not “support the delivery of safe care”.
Breach of regulations
According to the CQC investigation, “all the fire doors were defective” and several were “held open with objects such as laundry baskets and boxes”.
The inspectors warned that “all showers in the service could reach high temperatures, posing a scalding risk.” As a result, the home was “in breach of legal regulation in relation to people’s safe care and treatment”. According to the report, the owner replaced the fire doors and showers following the inspectors’ visit.
Martin Heath/BBCThe research also discovered that personnel did not respond to people’s needs “in the moment or act to minimise discomfort, concern, or distress”.
The inspectors stated that they had witnessed a resident’s condition deteriorating, but staff had not sought adequate medical advice until the inspectors instructed them to.
They decided that the home provided “limited” activities and outings, and the kitchen was shut, preventing residents from preparing their own food.
Staff were also not trained in the usage of mobility devices. On the bright side, residents and relatives praised staff as “kind and respectful,” and supervisors as “approachable.”
The CQC has now placed the home in special measures, which means it will be closely watched and given deadlines to improve. The commission will take further steps if the service does not improve.
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