Food 'withheld from hungry child' at Portsmouth care home
The Beechside centre has since closed
Food was withheld from a ‘hungry’ child in the now-closed Beechside Respite Care Home in Portsmouth, a shocking Ofsted report has revealed.
The Portsmouth City Council-owned care home in Drayton, which provided short-break services for up to six children with learning or physical disabilities, was closed following an Ofsted inspection.
The watchdog served an emergency suspension notice to the council following its inspection on November 16th and 17th last year.
The inspectors found ‘serious and widespread’ failures of senior care leaders that left ‘highly vulnerable children’ at risk of harm.
The previous manager ‘continued to fail to act’ on inappropriate physical restraint and ‘serious safeguarding concerns’ about staff members’ practice.
‘During an incident, another child had an object thrown at his head,’ the report reads.
‘No incident report was completed. Consequently, there was no assessment of the child’s injury and whether medical assistance was required.
‘An inappropriate restraint was carried out by a member of staff while a child was distressed, despite the child’s risk assessment stating that restraint is an “inappropriate” measure to use.
‘The child was placed away from her communication methods, contrary to her care plan. Further mistreatment of this child took place, with food being withheld from her, despite her indicating to staff that she was hungry.’
Managers did not take ‘decisive action’ after learning about a reported assault by members of staff on November 2 which prompted a police investigation.
Ofsted was not notified of the incident until November 9, the information provided gave ‘minimal detail’ and did not reflect the ‘full severity of the incident’.
As a result, the regulator could not make an informed evaluation of the safety and welfare of children and the staff’s ‘responses to these concerns’.
The report stated was not certain whether the manager met the requirements of the role as senior staff members failed to ensure that she applied to register with Ofsted.
It was also found that the manager was not trained in the home’s physical intervention method until the day before the Ofsted inspection.
A spokesperson from the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said the investigation relating to the reported assault has been concluded and was ‘filed with no formal action taken’.
Sarah Daly, the council’s director of children’s services and education said she gives her ‘absolute assurance’ that she takes the concerns raised ‘incredibly seriously’.
She said: ‘Since the inspection there has been a thorough review of policies and procedures and staff have been undergoing training. Maintenance has also been completed on the house.
‘We have been in ongoing contact with Ofsted to implement an improvement plan to address all the issues raised in the report and have taken the opportunity to consider wider improvements and changes to culture to ensure the home provides care that is consistently focused on children.
‘Ofsted revisited last week and are satisfied that we have made sufficient progress on the improvement plan to provide a safe home for children and the suspension notice has been lifted.
‘We are looking to recruit an interim manager to support the re-opening of the home when we can. Hampshire police have now concluded their investigation with no formal action being taken. We are now conducting our own internal investigation.
‘We are very sorry for how the closure has impacted families and will continue to provide as much support as we can.’