Care home criticised in report to close

Meppershall Care Home was critised in a damning report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) when it was inspected in May.

The CQC had already taken action to close part of Lavender House – the home’s dementia care unit – and to prevent the provider, GA Projects Ltd, being able to admit any further people to the home.

But following continued concerns on Sunday, the CQC removed the provider’s registration, meaning the home must close completely by tomorrow.

A spokesman for the CQC said: “The CQC has taken urgent action to protect the safety and welfare of people at Meppershall Care Home.

“We have been monitoring the service very closely and have been working with our partner agencies, such as Central Bedfordshire Council, with regard to the safety and welfare of people using the service.

“The council is now responsible for ensuring residents are receiving care, and for assisting relatives and residents in finding new homes.”

David Jones, assistant director for adult care services at the council, said: “Work to find suitable alternative homes for the residents started over the weekend. New accommodation has been found for the remaining 14 residents from the dementia unit and work is underway to make alternative care arrangements for the remaining 41 residents.

“Our absolute priority is to ensure the wellbeing of the residents in the home and to reassure their relatives they are safe and well cared for.”

Any action the CQC takes is open to appeal.

GA Projects said in a statement: “We are devasted by the decision of CQC to enforce closure of Meppershall Care Home. Whilst we acknowledge that there were areas of poor care, we believe that we should have been allowed to correct these deficiencies. There were many good people working at the home and many residents who enjoyed living there, it is therefore very distressing to now witness the forced removal of our residents and see staff lose their livelihoods.”