The Red House care home, in Ramsey, has been rated Inadequate after inspectors reported residents were at 'risk of harm' and found cases of dehydration and malnutrition.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) discovered multiple failings during an inspection in August and placed the home in Special Measures.

There were multiple failings at the home which caters for up to 60 residents, some of whom were living with dementia and physical disabilities.

The inspection was prompted due to information that the home, run by HC-One, was failing to meet care standards.

Also, serious issues were previously discovered at another HC-One home, the Elms in Whittlesey, which forced its closure and led to suspicions that common themes may be present at Red House.

Louise Broddle, CQC head of inspection for adult social care, said: “Standards of care at the Red House Care Home were unacceptable and people were at risk of harm."

CQC rated the care Home Inadequate in the five key areas for being not being safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs and well-led.

“Behind this was the failure of the service’s leaders to use good systems and processes to ensure people received high-quality, safe care that managed all risks to their health and wellbeing," added Louise.

"This included failing to ensure lessons were learned when things went wrong."

The inspection report stated that there was evidence of "neglectful" practice and highlighted that one person was administered two different types of blood-thinning medicine instead of one.

This placed the person at increased risk of bleeding and poor outcomes.

Another person had experienced significant unexplained bruising, which was not reported to management for 16 days.

Louise said: “This situation was worsened because the service didn’t have enough staff to meet people’s needs, and the staff it did have had not received adequate training."

“We also found people were at risk from dehydration and malnourishment, and they experienced weight loss which was not effectively recognised and responded to by staff."

Inspectors found that people were not effectively reviewed and supported with fluid intake within the inspection timeframe, which took place when the UK was experiencing a heatwave.

One person even required assistance from the emergency services due to dehydration.

The report stated that people were also at risk of pressure sores, skin deterioration and falls, with staff not responding to identify faults in equipment or administering adequate support.

“Responsibility for these failings lies with HC-One as a provider of the service," said Louise.

"HC-One should have taken all reasonable steps to ensure it could meet people’s needs and ensure their safety.

"It hadn’t met its responsibilities and consequently subjected its residents at the Red House to unacceptable standards of care."

Inspectors witnessed a lack of personable care from staff, who said one person's birthday had gone unnoticed and was not celebrated with "people's needs not always correctly assessed, recognised and responded to".

A spokesperson for The Red House said: “Making sure we deliver high-quality kind care for our residents is our utmost priority, and we are therefore deeply disappointed by the CQC’s most recent assessment of The Red House.

"We acknowledge that, as a result of the specific challenges we have experienced in the Cambridgeshire area for some time, we have very sadly fallen short of the high standards our residents expect and deserve at this home.

"With the support of the Council and CQC, and in line with the comprehensive action plan in place, we are continuing to work hard to overcome these and win back the trust of our residents and the wider community.

"We are fully committed to delivering substantial improvements within the six-month time frame stipulated by the CQC.

"Delivering kind and high-quality care remains our primary priority and we are committed to dedicating the time, senior oversight and resource needed to make sure we are getting care right for every resident and their loved ones.”

The Red House is the second care home in Huntingdonshire to be rated Inadequate following Cromwell Care Home's multiple failings published on October 21.

The Red House will now also be under review and could be closed down if the required improvements are not made.