'Inadequate' Leighton Buzzard care home insists improvements underway after two residents with dementia went missing

Swiss Cottage care home on Plantation Road was the subject of a damning inspection report published by the CQC in May, which rated it 'Inadequate' in all areas.

The report revealed that most falls were unwitnessed, alarms on some fire exits had been deactivated and two people with advanced dementia had left the home and gone missing. One was found by a neighbour, while the other was located by police nine hours later.

A concerned relative contacted the LBO to share his worries about his family member's safety at Swiss Cottage.

He said: "I have no confidence in them whatsoever and I'm petrified about my [relative's] well-being, the staff are rushing around and they don't notice things."

According to the report, two other relatives told inspectors they didn't feel their family members were safe. Lessens "were not always learnt" and safeguarding alerts were not being made to the local authority.

The report stated: "One member of staff said, 'We are pushed to the limit, everyone has their breaking point.'

"Staff told us there was not enough staff to always meet people's care needs. Most falls were unwitnessed by staff.

"We saw people staring at blank walls with no stimulation in their bedrooms. Some people spent all their time in their bedroom.

"People did not receive person-centred care in terms of their mental health needs and living with dementia. One person became upset and distressed; and several staff responded in a way which distressed this person further

"On two occasions, we needed to prompt staff to respond to a person saying they needed assistance to use the bathroom.

"Staff told us they did not have time to give people a shower. We were told by staff that having a facial shave and having people's hair styled was an occasional 'activity' rather than part of their daily hygiene routine

"The manager told us that a person living with dementia, who needed assistance from staff when outside, had left the home alone without the knowledge of staff and been found by a neighbour.

"On the night of our visit to the service, another person left the home without staff knowledge. The manager told us that this person had previously tried to leave the home alone on two occasions. On the latest occasion the person was found by the police nine hours later and needed to be hospitalised.

"The provider had not taken appropriate action to assess and mitigate the risks to people to allow them to leave the home safely with staff assistance should they wish to.

"We identified safety risks with fire exits being opened by people living with dementia, who could then leave the building without staff available to accompany them. We were told by staff that fire exits were used as routine exit and entry points by some staff and alarms were deactivated."

Swiss Cottage is run by Roseberry Care Centres, which insists that improvements have been made following the report.

A company spokesman said: "Roseberry Care Centres has been working very closely with Swiss Cottage care home, Central Bedfordshire Council and the CQC since the publication of the latest rating in May 2021 to ensure our residents are receiving the best care possible.

"We are pleased to see that the actions we have taken over recent months, including making new staff appointments, improving security measures, and reinforcing policies have received a positive response from the residents’ families.

"We will continue to work tirelessly to deliver the standards of well-being and quality of care we pride ourselves on."