Staff at Elmcroft Care Home had to look up how to care for people with dementia on social media due to lack of training

Elmcroft Care Home near Little Totham and Tolleshunt Major
-Credit: (Image: Google)


Care home staff looking after elderly people with dementia despite receiving no training from management and resorted to looking up advice on social media, a damning health watchdog report has found. Elmcroft Care Home, near Little Totham and Tolleshunt Major, has been slammed and placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after inspectors were "deeply concerned" over practices at the home.

The home is marketed as part of Abbey Healthcare which runs 13 care homes in England, offering personal and nursing care to younger and older adults including those with physical disibilites and dementia, with 46 people living there when inspectors came.

The CQC were contacted by whistleblowers raising concerns around resident safety and "poor culture", with staff lacking skills to handle people's needs. The care home has apologised for its failings and said "urgent whole-scale actions" have taken place since inspectors visited in May and June of this year.

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In the report published today (September 20), the CQC rated the home "inadequate", a drop from the "requires improvement" rating previously issued in 2023. As a result, CQC has placed the home into special measures, meaning it will be kept under review and closely monitored to ensure people are kept safe.

Inspectors said residents had "unexplained bruises and injuries" but hadn't been reported to ensure they were protected from abuse. Many incidents including an attempted suicide were not reported, and inspectors were concerned at the lack of training and number of staff at the home which was "affecting people's quality of life".

Stuart Dunn, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said: "We were deeply concerned by our findings at Elmcroft Care Home, which included serious risks to people’s safety, wellbeing, and human rights.

“We saw staff were trying their best to deliver safe, effective and dignified care, but were being let down by leaders who didn’t give them the tools or training to do so. Many didn’t know how to care for people living with dementia or mental health needs despite the home offering this service to people living there. We found one new staff member had resorted to researching dementia using social media because managers hadn’t given them training.

“We also found many people in the home had unexplained bruises and injuries, but these hadn’t been reported to ensure people were safe from abuse. A staff member told us the bruising was because managers hadn’t trained all staff on moving people safely. Leaders didn’t always report serious incidents, including a suicide attempt, to the local authority and CQC. This is legally required to ensure other agencies are aware and are able to intervene to keep people safe when they need to.

“Managers didn’t ensure there were enough staff, which was affecting people’s quality of life. Low staffing meant some people hadn’t been given regular showers, or supported to stay healthy and to do things they enjoyed. Despite this, one manager told us they considered the home overstaffed."

Mr Dunn said some staff worked up to 70 hours a week without any regular breaks, and claimed the home's managers subjected them to "bullying, harassment and racial discrimination". Staff were "frightened" to raise concerns about people's care, leading to lessons not being learned and mistakes repeated.

Mr Dunn added: "Leaders at Elmcroft lacked oversight of the home and hadn’t acted on problems they did know about. Since our inspection, the home’s manager, deputy manager, and clinical lead have resigned, as has the provider’s regional director. The home does have a new manager in place now who is responsible for oversight.

“We’ve told them where immediate improvements must be made. We’re currently working with other organisations including the local authority and monitoring the home very closely to make sure people are kept safe while this happens. We’ve also proposed taking further regulatory action, which the provider currently has the right to appeal.”

The inspectors additionally found that leaders "didn’t have the skills or knowledge to run the home well" and that owners had failed to make improvements the CQC recommended after the home’s last inspection.

Mark Cloonan, Director of Elmcroft Care Home Ltd, said; "We apologise for the failings highlighted in the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) report and would like to emphasise that since the assessment undertaken by CQC in May and June 2024, we have implemented
urgent whole-scale actions to remedy failings referred to in the report. This has included appointing a new management team at the home, and a new regional director.

"We are also working closely with the CQC and other key stakeholders, including the local authority, on bringing about root-and-branch changes to the home. This has included investing heavily in training for the team, adding subjects such as enhanced dementia, moving and handling, safeguarding, reporting and diversity training.

"The new leadership team has also prioritised supporting the team through transparent and open line management. We note CQC inspectors did find our care team trying their best to deliver safe, effective and dignified care. To support the team further, and in addition to increased training, we are reviewing all individual care plans for residents and working with residents and their families
to improve communication.

"We are confident that, in partnership with the local authority and CQC, we have already made large-scale improvements at the home, and it remains our utmost priority to continue to do so.”