Nunthorpe care home Upsall House criticised for 'unsafe' recruitment

A care home has been criticised for "unsafe" recruitment after seven workers were allowed to start without criminal background clearance.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has placed Upsall House, in Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, in special measures after an inspection in November rated it inadequate.

Inspectors also found fire safety at the 30-bed home was "very unsafe".

Home bosses said improvements were needed but action was being taken.

The CQC inspectors said they found seven new staff had been allowed to start working without Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks in place.

They also found new staff were not given an induction and there was "minimal oversight" of them, adding: "The provider could not demonstrate they had the right support in place for their roles or were competent to work at the service".

Fire safety at Upsall House was also judged as falling short and there was a request for immediate action after a visit by Cleveland Fire Brigade, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The report added: "Checks of fire systems were insufficient, evacuation procedures and planned fire drills were not appropriate, a fire risk assessment was out of date and some aspects of the building were not fire resistant."

The home, near Swans Corner Roundabout, was judged as requiring improvement in May.

But the watchdog's new findings uncovered shortcomings in safety and leadership - with a "lack of effective oversight" flagged up.

The report added: "This had led to significant deterioration in the quality of the service.

"Responsibilities and accountability at all levels [were] not understood."

The CQC will return for another inspection in six months.

A spokesperson for Upsall House said: "We are very disappointed with the negative report but I can acknowledge that improvements need to be made.

"However, swift actions have been taken and issues identified have already been addressed."

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