Care home owners left elderly unwashed for weeks in 'prison cells'

Residents at Mossley Manor care home did not have access to hot water to wash properly and their bedrooms were described as “prison cells”, resulting in the home's owners being fined more than £82,400.

Two brothers Amer Latif and Amjad Latif were fined £82,429.72 at Liverpool Magistrates Court today, after pleading guilty to 14 charges related to failing in their duties at the care home, where 43 residents were described as living in ‘appalling’ and ‘dangerous’ conditions by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The home was rated as Inadequate by the CQC on 5 June 2015 and was quickly shut down after CQC inspectors discovered most of the residents were ‘unwashed and unkempt’ with ‘offensive body odour'.

Inspectors wrote in their report: ‘A staff member told us: “Some of the bedrooms are like a prison cell” ’ and noted that people being put to bed at 6pm.

'No one has a bath'

Due to a lack of hot water or enough staff, inspectors were told by a worker "no-one has a bath" and some hadn’t had a shower or bath for four weeks. Inspectors said: ‘We went into some people’s bedrooms and were shocked at the terrible smell and state of their rooms. On two occasions we had to leave the rooms as the smell of stale urine and body odour was overpowering.’

Residents were washed in their rooms using washing up bowls filled from a kettle. Staff said there is “nothing you can do” if people want a bath. Inspectors said some toilets didn’t have any soap or towels.

Resident stuffed socks in broken window to keep warm

One of the residents' bedroom windows was broken in three places and the window was also jammed open, leaving a gap that couldn’t be closed. The resident told inspectors: “It’s been broken for over a month. I get cold at night and have to stuff my socks and clothes in the gap to keep myself warm.”

Some staff had criminal records

As well as a shortage of staff, inspectors discovered some workers on site had criminal records and staff had not been trained.

Inspectors noted: ‘Staff had not received safeguarding training in the last two years, including the manager and the CQC had not been alerted to any safeguarding concerns in the last two years.’

During their visits, inspectors “saw one person who was severely sun burnt after sitting outside” and found medicines in residents’ bedrooms that had been out of date for several years.

The brothers admitted at an earlier hearing that they had not told authorities about the deaths of 10 residents at the home.

’I just have to eat it’ says resident

“I am waiting for lunch", a resident told inspectors, adding "I don’t know what it is. I just have to eat it. No one tells you if there is anything else”.

The CQC found no written record of people’s dietary needs. A 77-year-old man who was at risk of choking was twice taken to hospital – but there was conflicting advice for staff on how they should support him to eat and drink safely.

Nothing to do and the TV doesn’t work

During the four days of the inspection, inspectors said they did not see any activities taking place. Staff said the activities co-ordinator had quit because the provider would not commit to a budget for activities.

A relative told inspectors: “There’s hardly anything for people to do. "There are some people here with no family and their only entertainment is the TV, which doesn’t work.”

Smoking policy

Inspectors witnessed people smoking in their bedrooms which failed to trigger the smoke detectors. Despite the home's zero tolerance to smoking, inspectors 'saw that people had ashtrays, smoking paraphenalia' and their bedroom carpets 'had ash and cigarette burns on them.’

Initially the care watchdog gave the Latif brothers 24 hours to submit an action plan to make improvements but when inspectors returned a few days later to check if this was implemented, there remained serious concerns. The brother's sentencing hearing on 6 March, is the CQC's fourth successful prosecution against a care provider.

'Appalling care'

Andrea Sutcliffe, of the CQC, said: 'Responsibility for the appalling care that my inspectors found ...rests squarely with the two brothers who were in charge of running this home.

“I hope today's case sends a clear message that, as the regulator, CQC will always listen when people share their concerns with us – and when people are exposed to harm and neglect we will use the criminal prosecution powers available to us to hold individuals to account.”

Samih Kalakeche, director of Adult Social Care and Health at Liverpool City Council, said all residents were moved to other homes, "and where possible moved groups of friends into the same accommodation."

The CQC was given new powers to prosecute the owners of failing care homes in April 2015. Health secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “I am appalled by the level of harm and neglect uncovered at Mossley Manor and it is right that the owners face the full force of the law.

"Families must have confidence that those in charge can be held responsible if they allow these sorts of abuses to happen. That's why we changed the law from April 2015 to make sure that managers and company directors who allow poor care to happen can be prosecuted.”