‘Rodent dropping’ Harrogate care home no longer registered

The Harrogate care home where rodent droppings were found is no longer registered by the Care Quality Commission.

Government inspectors put Mary Fisher House in special measures this year after discovering rodent droppings in the kitchen and finding some medicine practices to be “unsafe”.

The CQC report detailing the findings, which also said bedrooms “smelt strongly of urine”, was published in April.

The health and social care regulator subsequently said it had “taken action to protect the safety and welfare of people living at the home” by moving them them to other homes.

But it added its legal processes did not allow it to go into further detail at the time because care provider Svivekcaregroup Limited could appeal its findings.

An updated version of the report, released this month after the appeal deadline passed, revealed the CQC had issued notice of a proposal to cancel the home’s registration.

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A CQC spokeswoman told the Stray Ferret enforcement action “did not proceed to the final stage”. When the Stray Ferret asked why not, the spokeswoman said:

“The service is now closed, and no longer active on the CQC’s register. No one is living on site, and as far as CQC is concerned the matter is concluded.”

In June, Svivekcaregroup indicated the home, which catered for up to 24 residents on Cold Bath Road, was likely to reopen.

The Stray Ferret has attempted to contact Svivekcaregroup to ask if it still planned to re-open Mary Fisher House or had other plans for the building but has not received a response.

Rodent droppings found in kitchen of Harrogate care home

A Harrogate care home has been put in special measures after inspectors found rodent droppings in the kitchen and some medicine practices were found to be “unsafe”.

The Care Quality Commission inspected Mary Fisher House care home on Cold Bath Road in February.

In a report published yesterday, the care regulator rated the home as “inadequate” and placed it into special measures.

The inspection found that parts of the home, which provides personal and nursing care for up to 24 people, had “not been well maintained and were unsafe”.

Bedrooms “smelt strongly of urine” and there was evidence of rodent droppings in the kitchen.

On occasions, residents had either been given medication late or had not been given any.

It said:

“Medicines practices were unsafe.

“There were occasions whereby people who used the service had received their medicines late or had not been given them, as there were none left. Sufficient and timely actions were not taken to address this.

“A medicines policy was in place, but staff practice was not always in line with this. Staff who administered medicines had not always been trained.”

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Inspectors also found that staffing levels at the home were unsafe, with some reporting that there “wasn’t always enough staff to meet their needs in a timely manner”.

However, the report did find that staff were polite with people at the home and “worked hard to try and meet there needs”.

‘Fallen below standards’

In a statement, the home said it regretted that it had “fallen below the standards expected of us”.

The home, which is run by Svivekcaregroup Limited, said:

“Areas for improvement were identified in the recent inspection and we are committed to working closely with the CQC and North Yorkshire County Council to ensure changes are made quickly to redress this situation.”

Rachel Bowes, North Yorkshire’s assistant director of adult social care, said: 

“The CQC inspection identified some serious failings but we are confident management at Mary Fisher House want to take swift and meaningful action to improve the service they offer.

“We fully intend to support them in that and look forward to seeing progress. We were also pleased to see the CQC report highlighted the fact that staff at Mary Fisher House worked hard to meet the needs of people in their care and people were able to speak freely when the inspection took place.”