A care home in Rush Green has apologised after inspectors called it 'inadequate' and placed it into special measures.

Chaseview Care Home received the Care Quality Commission's lowest rating after it visited on August 31 and September 1.

The regulator published its findings on November 16.

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James Frewin, CQC head of inspection for adult social care, said the standards of care at the home put its residents "at risk of harm".

He said: "This is unacceptable."

A spokesperson for the care home, off Dagenham Road, apologised that it had not met "the high standards expected by our residents, their loved ones and ourselves".

“Everyone working at Chaseview is determined to deliver the right care, achieve the best outcomes for our residents and to win back the trust of the local community," they added.

CQC said the home had 103 residents at the time of its visit.

Inspectors found that "robust" risk assessments were not in place at the care home, run by HC-One.

They wrote: "People were not being appropriately protected against risks and action had not been taken to prevent the potential for harm."

Not enough action was taken to reduce the risk of falls with inspectors adding: "There was no clear guidance for staff about immediate actions they should take in response to distressed reactions from people.

"This meant there was no learning from incidents, or analysis to identify themes and trends and actions taken to prevent reoccurrence."

There were not enough staff to meet the assessed needs of residents, CQC said.

Inspectors who watched mealtimes found there were not enough staff to ensure residents were "adequately" supported to eat.

Workers also told them that there were not sufficient staff to provide residents with "appropriate" personal care, such as showers and accessing the toilet.

Inspectors found during a test that response times to call bells being rung were 20 minutes - having been told by the area director the target was within five minutes.

They said there was a lack of managerial oversight of the service and wrote: "Shortfalls across the service such as poor risk management, lack of oversight of medicines and limited oversight of people mental capacity had not been identified prior to our inspection."

But most residents told inspectors that staff were kind and CQC also said that staff were recruited safely.

Mr Frewin said CQC is keeping Chaseview "under close review".

“Issues at the home stemmed from a failure to use good systems and processes to identify issues and ensure people received safe care that managed all risks to their health and wellbeing," he added.

“We will not hesitate to take further action if we are not assured it has made significant improvement. This could include requiring the home’s closure.”

The care home's spokesperson said it is taking CQC's feedback "very seriously".

They said that staffing recruitment and retention issues were largely to blame for the shortcomings identified by inspectors.

“Since the report has been written, we have recruited a new permanent home manager who will provide the strong local leadership and oversight needed to move the home forward positively.

"In addition, our support teams are working with the home to introduce more rigorous risk assessment processes, enhanced training and mentoring opportunities for home colleagues, and further clinical monitoring to improve and maintain the safety and quality of the home.  

“We have also strengthened the regional management team in this area so that further support and oversight can be consistently provided.

“The wellbeing and safety of our residents is always our top priority".

The home is working with Barking and Dagenham Council and CQC to make the changes and improve performance.

CQC said the home's placement into special measures will see it monitored, with further enforcement action possible if improvement is not made.

It will re-inspect the home within six months.