A CARE home put residents at “serious risk of harm” by restraining them for more than 20 minutes, a new report claims.

Futures care home, in Colchester Road, Halstead, was placed in special measures by the Care Quality Commission after an unannounced inspection.

Inspectors have restricted new admissions to the service, which cares for up to 12 people with learning disabilities and autism.

The report, published on Wednesday, said: “There were occasions where people were fully restrained on the floor by the arms and legs for periods in excess of 20 minutes. Using unplanned restraint in this way put people at serious risk of physical and emotional harm.

“Physical intervention training had been provided by one of the provider’s former directors until September 2016. The provider had not been able to provide this train- ing since then and eight new staff employed since September 2016 had not completed this training.

“The lack of oversight from management meant this had not been fully recognised or addressed, and had resulted in several occasions where people were inappropriately restrained and the correct procedures were not followed afterwards to monitor them for signs of injury.”

Seven members of staff did not have employment references, while three only had one reference.

More than a quarter of staff were working without having criminal record checks at the time of the inspection in December.

The report also said: “There had been no tests of fire equipment, emergency lighting or the call bell system since September 2016.

“The requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were not being met. Decisions were being made on behalf of people without the correct process being followed.

“Areas of the home were run down and grubby. There were stains on walls in communal areas, wear and damp patches around radiators, and poorly fitted and maintained carpeting.

“A relative said: ‘The state of [person]’s room is terrible, they don’t have any cleaners and it doesn’t seem like they take much care of the environment.’ But inspectors noted risk assessments were detailed, individualised and robust enough to provide staff with consistent instructions and approaches.

People were also treated with dignity and respect by staff.

A spokesman for the home said: “The directors of the company take our responsibilities very seriously and have immediately actioned the areas identified.

“These include a review of the management structure of the service, new contracts with various training providers and a robust recruitment process.

“We are working in partnership with the CQC and the local authority to implement the changes required in a timely manner.”