VULNERABLE residents at a care home are not "protected from the risk of abuse," a watchdog has said.

Redlands in Chandler’s Ford has been slammed following a recent CQC inspection. 

The home that specialises in looking after people with learning difficulties and autism has been deemed inadequate.

A report cited risks of “financial abuse” and failures in safeguarding residents against “abuse” and “improper treatment.”

The facility in Leigh Road has now been placed into special measures following the inspection in March. 

It will be inspected again within the next six months.

‘Tight with budget’

The report said: “We found discrepancies within people's financial records which had not been identified by the provider.”

Inspectors identified concerns in relation to poor record-keeping, finance records as well as cleaning schedules, behaviour observation charts and accidents and incidents.

A relative of one resident told inspectors: "I don't rate them well at all because they're very tight with the budget."

“People were at risk of harm because staff did not always have the information, they needed to support people safely,” the report added.

‘Poorly maintained’

The report also said the home was “poorly maintained” and areas of the home were "not clean".

One part of the home had a “hole in a corner of a wall” which exposed some metal.

Concerns were also raised about the competency of staff and delivery of care.

The report reads: “People did not always feel well-supported, cared for, or treated with dignity and respect.

“People's privacy and dignity were not always supported by staff. We observed staff talking about people and their support needs in front of them.”

The care home has since apologised and said it “recognise(s) the need for immediate improvement to the service".

A spokesperson said: "We care very much about providing safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led services to the people we support.

“We are very sorry that our support did not meet these standards on this occasion.

“We have already made changes to the management of the service and are working on an improvement plan with the CQC to ensure the service is achieving expected standards.”

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article - we appreciate your support in reading the Daily Echo.

Subscribing to the Echo means you have unrestricted access to the latest news, features and Saints coverage - all with an advertising-light website.

You will also have full access to Saintsplus, your new home for Southampton FC tactical analysis, features and much, much more.

Don't take my word for it - subscribe here to see for yourself.

Follow the latest breaking news in the Southampton area by joining our Facebook group - Southampton News - Breaking News and Incidents

Follow the latest court and crime news on our dedicated Facebook group - Hampshire Court and Crime News