Colchester care homes placed in special measures by CQC

Maple View, Maple Lodge, Maple Manor, and Maple Cottage, which are all overseen by Maple Health UK Limited, were inspected in the autumn by the Care Quality Commission. 

The watchdog found a slew of shortcomings which have since resulted in health officials tearing up the previously good ratings they had awarded the facilities.

The inspections were triggered after the CQC made an official visit to Maple House in November - it was then residents were said to be subjected to physical restraints by staff on a regular basis.

Maple View and Maple Lodge have now been downgraded to inadequate – meaning they are in special measures – whilst Maple Manor and Maple Cottage have been rated as requires improvement, having previously been rated as good.

Serious – the inspections were triggered after shortcomings were identified at Maple House by the CQC (Image: Google Street View)

The care services are all in Amber Court, a cul-de-sac off Berechurch Hall Road, in south-west Colchester.

At Maple View, inspectors found one person was being restrained unlawfully and staff “didn’t always know how to meet the individual needs of autistic people and people with learning disabilities.”

Soiled furniture was found at Maple Lodge, where staff were not provided with training on how to support autistic people. 

A lack of oversight, meanwhile, was identified as a major problem at both Maple Manor and Maple Cottage, where issues could not be identified, inspectors said.

The CQC’s director for people with learning disability and autistic people, Rachel Bauers, said the shortcomings were a major concern.

Major concern – one of the CQC's top inspectors said healthcare providers were failing to learn lessons following incidents (Image: Google Street View)

She said: “When we inspected these care homes, it was deeply concerning to find people had been disproportionately and unsafely restrained at Maple View and Maple Lodge.

“While we didn’t find issues with restraint at Maple Manor and Maple Cottage, we saw the provider lacked oversight of people’s care at all four homes. 

“Where people had been restrained unsafely or unlawfully at Maple View and Maple Lodge, we found the provider hadn’t always learned lessons to keep people safe in future.

“Staff at both homes didn’t always understand the Mental Capacity Act, risking violations of people’s human rights.”