Merrymore nursing home is closed by owner

A NURSING home has closed after independent inspectors found that the elderly residents were at risk of injury, malnutrition and mistakes involving drugs.

Pensioners were moved out of the privately run Merrymore home following a damning report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which criticised almost every aspect of the treatment they received.

The report said the 22 residents, including a 105-year-old woman, were left in the hands of poorly trained and inadequately supervised staff.

It described the £550-a-week home in Barton Wood Road, Barton-on-Sea, as “poor” and gave it a zero star rating.

Merrymore was allocated time to improve standards following the inspection in February but failed to make any significant progress.

The CQC was on the brink of taking enforcement action when the owner decided to close the premises.

Yesterday the property was deserted and the curtains closed. Neighbours said the last of the residents moved out several days ago.

The CQC report contained a catalogue of complaints about the way Merrymore was run.

It said: “The home has been badly managed, which has resulted in people’s needs not being met and has placed people at risk.

“Hazards are not identified and control measures are not put in place. This increases the risk of harm to people who live in the home.”

The report said potential dangers included a 50cm drop outside a fire exit and loose carpet on a steep ramp near two bedrooms.

Turning to other issues the report said employees were not thoroughly checked before they worked unsupervised at night.

It added: “The home does not have adequate staff on night duty to meet the needs of people. One resident said they waited up to half an hour for their call bell to be answered.”

A CQC spokesman said: “We try to get care homes to improve standards and give them time to turn things around.

“However, we had been considering enforcement action against Merrymore.

“The owner voluntarily decided to close the home and there was no further action that we needed to take.”

Owner Rashmi Thakar said she was upset at the impact the closure had on those living at Merrymore.

“The families have helped me and supported me so much, but I feel really bad that the residents have had to leave their homes,” she said.

Seven of the residents were people whose care was being funded by Hampshire County Council, but social services felt the home was no longer suitable for them.

Felicity Hindson, executive member for adult social care, said: “It’s always our intention to work with homes but on the rare occasions when that is not possible we must take the welfare of our residents into account and if necessary we will move them.”

The pensioners are understood to have been transferred to other homes in the New Forest area.

Merrymore is owned by Sunshine Ventures Ltd, of Edgeware, Middlesex. A spokesman for the company was unavailable for comment last night.