Surrey dementia care home placed into special measures

A care home for people with dementia has been placed into special measures by a watchdog.

The Marula Lodge home in Mytchett was deemed "inadequate" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection in October - five months after it opened.

Concerns raised included residents being restrained by force.

Cornerstone Healthcare Group, which runs the home, said it had paused admissions following the CQC's report.

The watchdog found the resident's nutritional needs were not always being met, and the environment and design of the home was not suitable for people with dementia.

Inspectors also noted that a lack of signs for bathrooms or communal areas could lead to confusion among residents, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The report said: "We found the call bells at the service to be loud in tone, which could be alarming and distracting for people."

The report also includes notes from three health care professionals who flagged that residents were being forcibly restrained.

The CQC said that during the visit its inspectors had to intervene after staff failed to redirect an agitated resident away from others.

Cornerstone Healthcare Group said in a statement it was "disappointed" by the findings, and that a self-imposed pause on admissions had taken place while the regulator's concerns were addressed.

It added: "We have provided the CQC with extensive documentation to evidence our compliance in multiple areas that they deemed to be lacking."

The home, which had 15 residents at the time of the inspection, will be kept under review, as part of the special measures. It will be inspected again in six months.

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