A MERSEYSIDE care home has been slammed in a scathing report that found stained bedding, a debris-littered room, and staff saying they’re “scared” of their job.

The Merchant’s House in Wirral, which provides for people with diverse and complex needs, is now in special measures after being rated inadequate, and has been told by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) it must improve within six months.

The shocking report, which was published last week, warned the Birkenhead home: “If not enough improvement is made within this time frame so that there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service.”

The team in charge of the home said they had “already made a number of changes” since the report, and work was underway to make “further improvements”.

Published last week, the document provided details of an inspection carried out in November.

Under the category of ‘caring’, it described a visit to one resident’s bedroom, which had been left “untidy and uninviting”.

“This included bowls with dried remnants of food in them,” it said.

It added: “The floor was littered with debris, including rubbish, clothes and a used towel. The bed had been used to store items including gloves, clothes, pads, wipes and blankets and the wardrobe doors had been left open.

“All of this contributed to making the room appear cluttered, untidy, uncared for and uninviting.

“We looked at the person’s bed which we were told they chose not to use. This was in an unacceptable condition including a stained sheet and mattress through which all the springs could be felt.

“The way in which the bed was made, the lack of comfort and the use of it for storage showed that staff were not supporting the person to maintain their bedroom so that it looked comfortable and inviting.”

It also said how staff often “gave the impression they were watching people rather than supporting them”, by walking around with “visible large bunches of keys”, or standing in the lounge or bedrooms rather than sitting down.

This could be seen as creating a “power imbalance”, it added.

Staff were also using water soluble bags as baskets for dirty washing – which are generally used for “potentially infectious laundry”.

Unwashed laundry was also found on the floor – risking “cross infection”.

The document raised concerns staff did not understand why they were restraining residents – and when it was appropriate to do so.

That meant “systems for keeping people safe were not robust” at the home, which is run by Lifeways Inclusive Lifestyles Ltd.

Records of residents were also found to be “incomplete”, and it added: “This meant that no overview of the person’s daily life and what could affect their behaviours could be undertaken.”

Also revealed in the inspection was the revelation a staff member found their job at the building on Prenton Road East “scary”.

The report added: “Staff working at the home did not always feel supported by the provider. During the inspection one member of staff told us, ‘I do not feel supported with people who challenge. It can be scary for me.'”

It added that morale among staff was “low”.

Also of concern to inspectors was that staff had not taken compulsory training courses – including understanding autism, brain injury and learning disabilities.

“This meant they may lack the knowledge to understand people and how their conditions may affect them, in addition it means staff have not had up to date training in techniques they are using to try to keep people safe from harm,” it said.

Record keeping was not good enough either, the report found, with many entries “not detailed or accurate” – put down to a “lack of oversight”.

It also found what was written by staff in people’s care notes was at times “negative and judgemental”, and lacking respect.

One person’s notes, for example, included a description of “very mischievous and obsessive”, “being horrible to staff”, and “normal day, targeting self and staff”.Despite that, the report found feeling towards staff was positive.

It said: “One of the people told us that they liked the staff team and would feel confident to tell them about anything they were not happy with.

“They said that staff would ‘sort it’ for them.”

The Merchant’s House was given a rating of inadequate for the categories ‘safe’, ‘effective’ and ‘well led’, while it was given the requires improvement rating for ‘caring’ and ‘responsive’ – but there were some positives, too.

Meals prepared for the staff looked “plentiful and inviting”, and people were supported in getting access to health professionals.

It also said that although the practice was not “consistent”, people were supported to learn and retain life skills including using a washing machine and dryer.

It added: “Where people had the ability to use keys they had a key to their bedroom, storage and a fob for the front door. We observed that staff stood back and supported the person to open their front door and greet visitors thereby giving people some sense of control over their home.”

It also said staff were positive about building’s new manager, adding: “She had identified a number of concerns that we identified at this inspection and was able to tell us of some of the things she had planned or was exploring to improve the service people received.

“This included providing basic facilities for people to make a drink and snack and exploring ways to make a person’s bedroom safer.

“However, at the time of the inspection none of these ideas had yet been implemented.”

A spokesman for Lifeways said the operator had “already made a number of changes to how we work”.

He added: “We believe that we can demonstrate that the service we now offer is much improved. We are working hard to make further improvements, and are absolutely committed to ensuring a high standard of service to the people we support at The Merchant’s House.”