The manager of a Weston care home rated inadequate has hit back at inspectors who “pick on small businesses”.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) put Neva Manor into special measures after reporting that retired residents were told they had a cold when they had Covid-19, they were at risk of abuse and avoidable harm, and their medicines were stored incorrectly.

Manager and provider Brinda Bungaroo said it was unfair for the inspectors to arrive in the middle of a Covid-19 outbreak after the home staved off the virus most of last year.

She said she challenged numerous inaccuracies in the report and had nearly completed an action plan to address the issues it highlighted. The CQC said it stood by the rating of inadequate for the home’s safety and leadership.

Ms Bungaroo said: “The CQC have been very unfair. They’ve made it look like everything we’re doing is totally wrong. I’m not happy about it. The CQC don’t listen.

“I’m so angry. We work very hard and have a good reputation in North Somerset. Last year we managed to protect everyone from Covid. In December we had some cases.

""They came right in the middle of it. That’s not right, it’s not been easy. We’ve been working hard making sure people are safe.

“The CQC have no compassion whatsoever. I’ve been in this business for 15 years. For them to say this now is very unfair.”

Ms Bungaroo said residents were getting upset seeing the news about the pandemic.

She said in some cases relatives agreed they should not be told if they caught Covid, and the few cases that did occur in the home were only mild.

The CQC said the home had not considered the residents’ mental capacity when they were told they only had a cold.

“They [the CQC] have really twisted things,” said Ms Bungaroo. “I’ve challenged it. They didn’t want to change it.”

The inspectors wrote that there was nowhere for staff to change into PPE, but Ms Bungaroo said that was inaccurate. They said the cleaners only worked limited hours; the manager countered that reducing the risk of infection was everyone’s responsibility, and there is now a clean seven days a week rather than five.

The inspectors wrote that a urine stained mattress was left in a communal bathroom. Ms Bungaroo said it was placed in the unused room the Friday they arrived and was removed the following Monday.

She added: “The CQC are a law to their own. A bad report can do a lot of damage. - we’re a small home and we rely on all our beds being full.
“They’ve picked on us because we’re a small company - we aren’t perfect, we’re always happy to learn.

"I’m very upset, angry and sad.”

Amanda Stride, CQC’s head of inspection for adult social care, said its routine inspections were paused in March 2020 and are now only undertaken where there is a serious risk to safety or to support the pandemic response, following a clear methodology.

She said the CQC reviewed Ms Bungaroo’s comments on a draft report and made some minor amendments 'but none of these impacted on our initial findings, the breaches identified or the ratings given'.

Ms Stride added: “We are confident that the rating of inadequate for Neva Manor Care Home following our inspection in January was correct and we will be carrying out a further inspection to check the required improvements have been made in due course."