Portsmouth care home enters legal showdown with CQC over 'ridiculous' inadequate ratings

Bluewater Care Home in Kingston Road, North End, received overall inadequate ratings by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in June 2022 and November 2021.

Owner David Sheppard is contesting the findings and is taking CQC to Havant Tribunal Court on March 6 – ‘seeking substantial damages,’ after the business received three outstanding, 16 good, and one requires improvement rating from three independent health bodies – Outstanding Care Homes, SRG Care Consultancy and Delphi Care Solutions – over the last 12 months.

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In the most recent report, concerns were raised over patient care, staff training, a lack of activities, and employees being ‘defensive’ and ‘unreceptive’ to feedback – among other issues; all of which Mr Sheppard disputes.

He told The News: ‘There is a discrepancy between CQC and three independent national companies which carries out full inspections, which use former CQC inspectors. Those ratings are exemplary. To get one outstanding is really difficult.

‘We have evidence that CQC has falsified or exaggerated several issues. We will go for compensation, as we did lose patients’

Mr Sheppard added an independent health consultant, Trisha King, found ‘gaping and glaring’ holes in CQC evidence. ‘You would expect the truth from CQC, but their interests felt extraordinarily invasive and spiteful,’ he added.

The debate over activities angered the owner. The June report referenced one resident who was ‘anxious’ and ‘restless’ and was ‘left without occupation or interaction for long stretches of time. They said: ‘I feel like I've been stuck in too much, it's killing me.’

Another referenced case study said: ‘They said [Staff are] very nice but there is nothing to do. I am stuck staring at these four walls.’

The home hosts regular events for residents celebrating major holidays and has several indoor features including its own train and plane. Mr Sheppard said: ‘We are highly renowned for activities, including trips to the breach and scrumping. Anywhere the residents want to go to, we go.

‘Our Facebook page is littered with examples. Very little of those positive things were put in the report, they were ignored. Residents were in the middle of activities when inspectors arrived unannounced in June.’

Mr Sheppard said the home and each patient has their own activities book, showing them where they went. CQC accused the provider of not being receptive to feedback in June. They said: ‘We continued to encounter a defensive approach by the provider, who disagreed with our findings. The provider had displayed the CQC report ratings, however ‘UNDER APPEAL’ was written next to each of the ratings on the last inspection report, which is not correct.’

The health watchdog added staff were blocked from speaking to them. Mr Sheppard said they and himself were concerned with them ‘fabricating comment’, and apparently rang them out of hours while they were looking after their families. He claimed he did not stop staff from contacting them.

‘We prewrote to CQC saying staff wanted to have those discussions in the office, but CQC said they didn’t have time to do that, despite having four people on hand for eight hours.

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‘It’s nonsense. They could have spoken to any member of staff openly.’

The watchdog claimed a lack of qualified employees were in place after reviewing rotas. ‘We have identified breaches in relation to person-centred care, consent, safe care and treatment, good governance, staffing and fit and proper persons employed at this inspection,’ they said.

‘Rotas showed the provider did not ensure there was consistently sufficient staff deployed, particularly on night shifts, who were appropriately trained to meet people's needs.’

Mr Sheppard disputes the claim, saying employees complete over twice as many training modules than industry standard, completing on the job training out of hours.

‘I’m extremely lucky to have the staff I have, they’re brilliant,’ he said. ‘Most of the staff have completed between 50 to 60 training modules, despite the mandatory 12, which far exceeds the norm. We only take on experienced staff.’

Two care home residents said they love living there. Patricia Drain said: ‘I enjoy going to the beach with everyone. I think they’re [staff] are lovely. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.’

Daughter Rachel Lawrence said her mum moved into the home in July 2020 – unable to look after herself after contracting Alzheimer’s – and said the care has been ‘incredibly good’, and employees dealt with Patricia being upset and anxious when she first moved in.

‘They bend over backwards for mum to accommodate her wishes,’ she said. ‘She is really happy and considers it to be her home. If you could see my mum then, and see her now, she’s a completely different person. She’s a much happier and healthier version of herself.’

Care home resident Iris Cooper, 90, said: ‘We always have a lovely time together here.’ Her son Graham said she moved in when the pandemic started.

He added she suffers from dementia and moving her there was the best thing he ever did. ‘She’s been happy as anything since,’ he said. ‘If she wasn’t happy, she would tell us.’

Mr Graham said he rang CQC to ask if his mum was safe and was on the phone for an hour being passed between departments. ‘I didn’t get one straight answer from them. I was asking if I should move my mum out.

‘I had no concerns at the home at the time, and I haven’t done since.’

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CQC and Bluewater are at loggerheads with each other. Mr Sheppard is convinced he is right.

He added: ‘Instead of being honest, they are trying to put me out of business. We can’t receive these good and outstanding ratings, and then get that ridiculous rating from CQC.

‘When this goes to court, this will all be disproved. It will be clear that some in CQC have an agenda towards me.’