Unsafe, dirty and understaffed: Care home placed in special measures

Plus: What's On guide to the summer holidays

Jul 20, 2025

∙ Paid

Hello and welcome to the 54th edition of The Southport Lead.

Today’s issue focuses on the dreadful findings from an inspection of a Birkdale care home. Those living there, who are mostly dementia sufferers, were found to be living in dirty, stinky conditions with overstretched staff unable to provide adequate care. The CQC has now stepped in.

For paying subscribers, our regular events guide takes a wider look at some of the many exciting things to come as we reach the summer holidays.

Rapid improvements to “inappropriate and unsafe care" demanded from care home

By Jamie Lopez

A dirty, unsafe and understaffed care home has been placed in special measures after a damning visit from inspectors.

The Care and Quality Commission (CQC) labelled Ellerslie Court as inadequate and ordered that a wide range of improvements be carried out to prevent further action being taken.

The home, which is run by Lotus Care, is based on Westcliffe Road and cares for around a dozen of adults who are mostly dementia patients. As well as an overall ‘inadequate’ rating, it received the same verdict in the ‘safe’, ‘well-led’ and ‘effective’ categories, with the rest judged as ‘requires improvement’.

Inspectors found five breaches of the legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment, person centred care, consent, staffing, and how the home is managed.

Among the findings during the inspection in June were dirty low staff levels, overreliance on agency staff who weren’t properly briefed, a lack of cleanliness, poor record keeping, failed management, missed medication, and no efforts to learn from mistakes.

According to the CQC, the lack of appropriate induction for agency workers - or ones which were carried out by staff not trained to do so - resulted in incidents which impacted on care, including one incident in which eight people did not receive their prescribed medication.

Meanwhile, the home was described as visibly dirty. Inspectors said: “We observed dirty bedding, pillows, and toothbrushes in people’s bedrooms. There was a strong smell of urine in some areas of the home.

“In two people’s ensuite bathrooms, we noted flooring was coming away from the floor and wall, and in one bathroom, pools of water were gathering. This increased the risks of bacteria accumulating and contamination, placing people at risk of infection.”

But that wasn’t the only issue in bedrooms. One person was living in a room which contained the belongings of the previous occupants some 16 months after they’d departed and despite the requests of the person now living there.

A review of accidents and incidents revealed one person had 26 falls, five of which had resulted in significant injuries but the home had failed to notify the CQC or local safeguarding team about any of these. The registered manager at the time of the assessment admitted she did not know which incidents should be reported to CQC or which required a safeguarding referral.

During the two day inspection, inspectors witnessed minimal interaction between staff and residents while it was apparent that those working were required to do more than was possible due to low staffing levels. On one occasion, a call bell was left unanswered for 15 minutes and on another a resident who requires 24/7 supervision was left unattended so another alarm could be responded to.

Among the many issues with record keeping, care plans did not always contain information about people’s social histories or their likes and dislikes, with ‘about me’ sections often left blank.

The staff members themselves did receive praise, with those in the home and their family describing them as “welcoming and friendly”. One family member said: “Staff are lovely, like a big family.”

Karen Knapton, CQC deputy director of operations in the north-west, said: “When we inspected Ellerslie Court, it was disappointing to see a such a deterioration in the quality of care being provided. Poor leadership had led to issues including prolonged understaffing meaning people were receiving inappropriate and unsafe care and causing low staff morale.”

She added: “This regular understaffing led to a poor culture and people’s needs not being met due to an over-reliance on agency staff who didn’t know people well. Interactions between staff and residents weren’t warm or friendly and were often task focused placing people at risk of loneliness.

“We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid, and continued improvements and will continue to monitor the home closely to keep people safe while that happens. We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to use our regulatory powers further if people still aren’t receiving the care they have a right to expect.”

Cemetery building to remain unused and boarded up

By Elliot Jessett

Mystery surrounds two abandoned lodge houses at the entrance of Duke Street Cemetery. Rsidents say they have become increasingly concerned about the dilapidated state of the two buildings and the apparent lack of any concrete plans for their future.

According to local resident Jeff Povey, the lodges have been empty for more than 20 years despite offers to buy the properties and renovate them. However, due to their location at the entrance to the cemetery, it is unclear what type of function they could presently serve.

The lodge’s history and architectural value have always sparked interest since they were built as part of Duke Street Cemetery. The two gate lodges are thought to have been completed in 1865 by Blackwell, Son and Booth; the builder was Statham Brothers.

Duke Street Cemetery opened in 1866 and is the oldest cemetery in Sefton. It is divided into two distinct parts, the older section with its elaborate memorials – designed by Edward Kemp – and the more modern lawn areas.

The cemetery also holds memorials for soldiers who died in both World Wars, and visible through the entrance are two symmetrical chapels, which were Grade II listed in 1999.

Due to the beauty and prominence of the buildings in Duke Street Cemetery, it is perhaps unsurprising that local residents are interested in what the future holds for them. Mr Povey said: “It used to be a family home and it became vacant in 2005. In 2009 I requested to buy this once beautiful lodge and restore it to its former glory.

“My interest in buying the property was turned down. Every day for the last 20 years I have walked past this derelict, boarded up dwelling.”

Sefton Council confirmed that they are still assessing what the best options are for the use of the lodges, a spokesperson said: “We can confirm this property is a local authority asset and we continue to look at and refresh our portfolio to ensure our assets are serving us the best they can.

“As part of any review, if an assets are identified as having the potential to be placed on the market, then the council will ensure that any sales process gives the local authority the best value for money.

“With assets located in sensitive locations, such as the property at Duke Street Cemetery, this also includes ensuring that any future uses are sensitive to the surrounding environment.”

What’s On This Summer

By Andrew Brown

School’s out for summer! The school summer holidays are starting, and there is plenty to enjoy in Sunny Southport!

Here, The Southport Lead teams up with Visit Southport to bring you 10 great ideas of how to keep the whole family entertained over the coming weeks, from the iconic Southport Flower Show to “the North West’s toughest fitness competition” to the thrills of Southport Air Show

Keep reading with a 7-day free trial

Subscribe to The Southport Lead to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.