Elmstead Market, Wivenhoe: Care homes ‘among the worst in county’ (From Gazette)

Elmstead Market, Wivenhoe: Care homes ‘among the worst in county’

9:49am Thursday 8th May 2008

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Two residential care homes in the Colchester area have been branded among "the worst in Essex" by a national care watchdog.

Elm Cottage in Elmstead Market and Hope House in Wivenhoe have been named among the worst care homes in Essex under new star ratings published by the Commision for Social Care Inspection (CSCI).

Both privately-run homes ranked poor' in their latest inspections due to shortfalls in management, staff training and patient records and protection procedures.

It puts them in the bottom three per cent of 24,370 care homes across the country.

Elm Cottage in Lucerne Road, which cares for people who have suffered brain injuries, was visited by inspectors in January.

The report said the manager was rarely seen by staff as she worked between two centres, as well as working at a private hospital.

Staffing arrangements were unclear and recruitment records were missing while information on patients' needs was out of date.

Hope House in Sandford Close housed five residents with learning disabilities but three moved elsewhere after the home was threatened with the axe in June 2006.

It was given three months to comply, but its latest inspection found it was not capable of caring for residents with mental health problems and had been operating below standard for a year.

Inspectors found its problems were mainly down to management and leadership, and care plans were poor and out of date.

Chris Walsh, regional director for Partnerships in Care Ltd, which runs Elm Cottage, said she believed the ratings could be inaccurate.

She said: "It's fantastic we are inspected against a whole set of standards. The problem is people putting their loved one into a care home might not understand the whole system and the bureaucracy.

She added that the main criticism was the management of the home and that, at the time, some staff were not as experienced as others.

She stressed: "There were also good comments on the residents' care and I think this rating can give a very slanted view."

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