A CARE home has been put in special measures after a watchdog found staff had inadequate access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and did not have enough infection prevention measures in place.

Rydal Care Home, in Darlington, was rated inadequate following the inspection by officers from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), who visited in August after whistleblowers called the watchdog over fears about staffing levels.

The CQC said it had received information from whistleblowers and healthcare professionals about the new manager cutting staffing levels, which were leading to people being unsafe, while relatives had raised concerns about people sustaining injuries and there being a lack of personal care.

A report published this month found that staff did not have adequate supplies of PPE, did not have enough infection prevention and control measures in place and Government guidance in relation to Covid-19 was not followed.

Meanwhile, a third of the staff had left over a six-week period.

The report added: "Prior to starting our inspection there had not been enough staff on duty to keep people safe.

"Staff had been unable to appropriately assist people to attend to their personal care. Just before and whilst we were inspecting the provider increased staffing numbers to the previous safe levels.

"Whistleblowers had made us aware a large number of staff had left the service prior to the inspection. The information the manager supplied about this was incorrect and we found more staff had left to what we had been told.

"The high staff turnover combined with the need to rapidly increase staffing levels to a safe number meant shifts at times had 90 per cent of agency staff covering them. Permanent staff told us they hoped this situation was resolved quickly as it was stressful supporting high numbers of agency staff on a shift, who were not familiar with the needs of people who used the service."

A spokesperson for the home in Rydal Road, which is managed by Minster Care Management Limited, said it was working with Darlington Borough Council and the CQC to deliver a “comprehensive action plan”.

It added a previous manager had "not followed" infection prevention protocols.

The CQC report found people were not protected from the risk of infection.

It said: "During the height of the pandemic the manager had assured the CQC, the local authority and infection control nursing team in telephone discussions about how they were managing the risk of Covid-19, that they had appropriate supplies and were following government guidance relating to Covid-19 practice.

"At inspection however, we found the provider had failed to implement and follow Covid-19 guidance to reduce the risk of infection.

"For example, we saw insufficient supplies of Personal Protective Equipment for staff, staff were not following basic hand hygiene procedures and social distancing was not being followed.

"Infection control audits were in place. However, these had not identified the poor practice we observed and the lack of PPE we found."

A spokesperson for Rydal Care Home, which was rated good in its previous inspection in 2019, said: “The CQC’s report is very disappointing and does not reflect our values as an organisation.

“We have made urgent changes to the management structure to address the issues raised and we are liaising closely with the Local Authority and CQC in delivering a comprehensive action plan.

“There have been clear protocols and measures in place – including a more than adequate supply of PPE on site – to manage Covid-19 infection prevention since the beginning of the pandemic. These were simply not followed by the previous manager, but are now being strictly adhered to and all staff are aware of their responsibilities.

“The home was rated ‘good’ prior to recent events and we are confident the changes we have made will enable us to achieve this rating once again.”

The home will be kept under review, with another inspection due within six months.