Inadequate nursing home closes.

A nursing home that stank of urine, had stained carpets and mould on the walls has been closed following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Merok Park nursing Home, Banstead, Surrey, shut on December 9 after Inspectors concluded that the provider was failing to offer care which was safe, effective, caring, responsive or well-led.

Overall the CQC inspection rated Merok Park Nursing Home, run by Mr and Mrs S Coopen, as Inadequate.

The CQC made two unannounced inspections and three other visits during November and December 2014 and found several areas of concern, which were raised with Mr and Mrs Cooppen. When no improvement was seen, CQC took action to protect residents from further harm by urgently cancelling the provider's registration.

Among the main areas of concern were that there were not enough staff on duty and, at times, there was only one duty nurse for 27 people; staff regularly worked 50 hours a week and some were on duty for 84 hours a week; staff failed to notice when some people did not eat their lunch and Inspectors saw staff being rough with generally and with those in distress.

Other problems included that there was mould on walls, broken taps, stained carpets and only cold or tepid water in some rooms so people washed in cold water.

There was an overpowering smell of urine and staff, including the cleaner, had no infection control training. Soiled clinical waste was left in open bags in a bathroom and the outside clinical waste bin was unlocked which was a serious infection control risk.

The two sluice rooms were not fit for purpose. A cleaner was seen to give a quick rinse to a commode in the basin of a toilet. The home was dirty. Some bathrooms had run out of hand wash and inspectors saw stained toilets, toilet seats and dirty toilet brushes. Not all staff had received a criminal records check and here was no evidence that all nurses were registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

CQC Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care Adrian Hughes, said: “The environmental and staffing issues could have been quickly remedied but the providers were unwilling or unable to take the necessary action.

"It is unacceptable for people to be washed in cold water, this does not promote or protect their dignity. When people using care services rely on others for support to eat, that support must be there and provided in a kind, compassionate and dignified way.

“To allow the smell of urine in the home to become so overwhelming was symptomatic of the provider's inability to monitor the quality of the care and take action when needed.”