A Bupa-run care home whose residents all have dementia has been given the lowest possible rating by an independent health regular who warned “people’s human rights were at risk”.

St George’s Nursing Home in Byfleet Road in Cobham was branded “inadequate” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC,) who evaluated the service in an unannounced inspection for a report released on December 30.

In three of the five key areas assessed, including whether the service was caring, responsive and well-led, the nursing home was deemed inadequate, with the remaining key areas of safety and effectiveness “requiring improvement”.

The inspection, carried out on October 14, said: “People’s human rights could be affected because the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were not always followed. Staff did not always understand their responsibilities under the MCA, or the DoLS.”

Those in the home were also said to be “at risk of having decisions made for them without their consent, as appropriate assessments of their mental capacity were not completed”.

The report added that “there were times when staff did not treat people with dignity and respect”, including a time when one woman was wheeled into the middle of the lounge to have her hair cut while asleep and stayed asleep throughout.

However, residents praised the food in the home: “You get lots of food here, almost too much, I get biscuits and milkshakes. I can even have Horlicks if I want it.”

One relative told the investigators: “I feel the home is outstanding and the nurses are excellent.”

The report added: “They told us that the staff had responded quickly to their family member’s ill health and felt the family member would not be alive today without their intervention.”

A spokeswoman for Bupa, the private healthcare company that run St George’s Nursing Home, said: “We have taken immediate action to address the issues raised by the CQC.

“This includes creating dementia-friendly areas, arranging for all staff to have specialist dementia training and reviewing care plans.

“We are committed to making all the required improvements and meeting the standards. In the meantime, we have agreed not to take new admissions there.

“The health and wellbeing of our residents is our top priority.”

St George’s provides care for up to 63 people living with dementia. At the time of inspection 57 people lived there.

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