Sense Tanglewood in Malvern placed in special measures

Sense Tanglewood in Albert Road South was visited by inspectors from the CQC (Care Quality Commission) in June and a report was published in late September.

The care home is now under pressure to make “signficant improvements” within six months, or risks being shut down by the regulator.

The charity Sense, which runs Tanglewood, says an action plan has been put in place.

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According to the report, there were systems in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse but these were not applied effectively, putting residents “at risk of avoidable harm”.

Inspectors found that concerns raised by staff were not always investigated, including concerns raised with the CQC over “poor and abusive treatment of people using the service”.

The report says staff were “patient and created a warm and inclusive atmosphere” and treated residents with dignity and respect.

But, the CQC found, the care home had “not taken action to protect people from abuse and improper treatment” and medicines were not managed safely.

And relatives told inspectors they “had not been aware of the potential risks to their loved ones until the inspection”.

“Immediately following the inspection the provider has brought in internal senior managers from their wider organisation to undertake a full review of incidents,” the report says, “including where necessary taking retrospective actions to safeguard people.”

A spokesperson for Sense said: “We take the report and its findings very seriously. 

“An action plan is now being implemented to address the issues, and we are working closely with the people we support and their families. 

“We are committed to making the necessary improvements to ensure we meet and exceed their expectations.

“Sense is dedicated to providing the best possible service for the individuals that we support and 95% of our services are rated ‘good’ or above by the CQC.”