Rotherham residential home labelled “unsafe”

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission rated Broomhaven Residential Care “inadequate” after visiting the three-bed unit last November.

Their damning report, released this week, slams poor record-keeping, ignorance of care laws, rudeness to residents and a lack of senior oversight.

The officials found that, while occupants felt “very happy” with the home on Broom Grove in Clifton, it fell short of its legal obligations.

The facility houses up to three adults with learning disabilities, but inspectors say some carers did not understand mental capacity or privacy.

They add that staff carried out risk assessments, but did not always follow them.

One resident known to be at risk when walking unaided was not helped to move around.

Safeguarding procedures were also not in line with Rotherham Borough Council rules and at least one carer did not know how to manage the risk of abuse.

“We found that staff did not always show people using the service a high degree of respect,” Inspectors also said.

“We identified occurrences where one staff member spoke to people in a brusque and infantilising manner.”

When inspectors told site manager John Tipple about the carer, he reportedly said: “That’s just how they are,” and “I’ll have a word, if you like.”

The CQC report criticised Mr Tipple, finding that he did not fully understand his responsibilities as a care home boss.

“We spoke with the registered manager about the regulations that he was legally required to comply with as part of running a registered care home,” it says.

“He told us that he did not know about these regulations but he assured us that he would find out about them.”

Mr Tipple told inspectors staff had received all necessary training, but could not produce records to prove this.

He also said he would not employ people “from other cultures” because they would struggle to communicate, or women of child-bearing age as he could not afford maternity pay.

Formal assessments of staff numbers, staff training and safety of the premises had also not been carried out.

“The provider did not have any formal systems in place for monitoring and auditing the quality of service people received,” inspectors said.

“The manager could not describe any ways he monitored the quality of the service apart from ‘looking round, checking it’s all okay’.”

The report did add that staff were well-trained regarding medicines and responded well to residents’ needs.

They were generally “caring and responsive” — residents were kept busy at home and helped to access the town centre, relatives and social events.

The CQC gave Broomhaven two months to improve, or face further enforcement action.

Deputy chief inspector Debbie Westhead said: “While we did observe some caring interactions between staff and people living in the home, we also found some concerns.

“The provider is failing to meet the basic requirements to ensure the safety of the people living at the home and we have told them that they must take action to resolve the issues we identified.”

The Advertiser called Mr Tipple and asked for his comments on the report. A spokeswoman said: “We’re working towards amending things with Rotherham Council.”