A care provider that failed in its duty to provide safe care and treatment has been ordered to pay £82,429.72 in fines and costs by Liverpool Magistrates’ Court.
The Care Quality Commission brought the prosecution against the owners of Mossley Manor Care Home, following 14 offences including failing to provide safe care and treatment resulting in residents being exposed to significant risk of avoidable harm, failure to notify the CQC of the deaths of ten residents, and failure to notify CQC of three serious incidents.
The registered providers, brothers Mr Amjad Latif and Mr Amer Latif, of Liverpool, pleaded guilty to all offences.
Jenny Ashworth, prosecuting, told the court as a result of concerns from the family of a prospective resident, the CQC inspected Mossley Manor Care Home during May and June 2015 and were appalled at what they found.
Inspectors found some residents who were unkempt, smelling strongly of urine or body odour; some had not received a bath or shower in the previous three weeks. Bedrooms were not being cleaned regularly and some contained mouldy and congealed tea and coffee cups. Carpets were dirty and dusty. Communal toilets did not contain soap, hand towels or bins. When there was no hot water staff had to boil pans of water in the kitchen to wash residents.
Initially CQC gave the Latif brothers 24 hours to submit an action plan to make urgent improvements. When inspectors visited again a few days later to check if this was being implemented there were still serious concerns. CQC applied to Liverpool Magistrates to urgently cancel the provider’s registration and close Mossley Manor.
The court was told that the care home had failed to control risks of serious injury. There was no proper system in place for assessing the risks to the health and safety of individual people. One woman who was blind and had a history of falls was found injured on the floor of her room on three occasions but the provider failed to take action to stop it happening again. A 77-year-old man who was at risk of choking was twice taken to hospital – but there was conflicting advice for staff on how they should support him to eat and drink safely.
Amjad Latif and Amer Latif were fined £60,000 for failing to provide safe care and treatment and £20,800 for the 13 offences of failing to notify CQC. They were also ordered to pay the prosecution costs of £1509.72 and a £120 victim surcharge.
In a statement Debbie Westhead, CQC's Deputy Chief Inspector for Adult Social care said:
“People who use adult social care services such as care homes should expect to be kept safe from harm and treated with dignity. Our inspectors found the services provided at Mossley Manor Care Home, Liverpool fell well short of what people should expect, exposing some of the most vulnerable people in our society to unimaginable indignities.
“Under the care of brothers Amjad Latif and Amer Latif, people using this service were not protected from this neglect and we were forced to urgently cancel the registration and close Mossley Manor Care Home. We worked closely with Liverpool City Council at the time so that people living at the home could find alternative accommodation.
“It was for these reasons and more that we used regulatory powers to prosecute them for a failure to provide safe care and treatment resulting in a significant risk of exposure to avoidable harm. We also prosecuted them for failure to notify CQC of the deaths of ten people using their services and three serious incidents.
“We are pleased to hear that the seriousness of their crimes has been recognised by Liverpool Magistrates Court and they have been ordered to pay £82,429.72 in fines and costs."
