A wife has spoken out as she claims her husband was left unwashed and “smelling disgusting” after spending a week in a care home which has been rated inadequate.

Julie Coleman spent £1,500 to place her husband, who has Alzheimer’s, in Priory Mews Care Home, Dartford, for respite care.

The couple’s daughter Marie took her father in on January 23 and together with her mum, picked him up on January 29.

“My family wanted me to have a week’s break as I take care of my husband full time,” Mrs Coleman said.

“I packed his suitcase with six of everything, plus toiletries electric razor and 56 incontinent pads. I never went to visit him as I didn't want to upset him, but my daughter did, and that’s when alarm bells started ringing regarding his care.

“When I went to pick him up on the 29th, I found my husband unwashed and smelling disgusting. I later found out that they only used 19 of the 56 incontinent pads.”

She added: “I couldn’t put it into words the moment I saw him. I was so cross. Absolutely fuming. I simply could not believe it.

“We got him home and he had these manky old socks that weren’t his. All he had on was an incontinent pad, not even a pair of pants to go over the top and hold it in place.”

Mrs Coleman believes her husband hadn’t been out of bed for the entire week because he was so unsteady on his feet.

She said: “At home, he spends a lot of time in bed, but we never had trouble in getting him out to the garden or anything like it.”

The family reported their concerns to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and on February 22, inspectors rated the home as inadequate overall. A spokesman for the home has disputed Mrs Coleman’s claims.

On April 27, a damning report was published and revealed bathrooms were cluttered and unclean, medicines were not safely stored, and patients were left unshaved and in the same clothes for days.

The 112 people living at the home at the time of the inspection were deemed “not protected from harm and not supported to maintain their privacy and dignity” by the CQC. This is one of the latest Kent care homes to be downgraded by the healthcare watchdog.

The Watling Street facility, which cares for up to 156 adults aged over 65 with dementia, as well as other diseases and injuries, was acquired by RCB Health Care last September.

It was previously run by HC-One No.1 Limited, who were given an overall “good” rating in November and December 2020.

The new healthcare provider had told the CQC it was working hard to make improvements, including refurbishing people's living spaces, staff recruitment, staff training, creating a positive staff culture, and increasing meaningful activity. But inspectors noted poor quality of care across the board.

The report revealed people were not always treated with kindness and compassion, with inspectors noticing that a few residents looked “unkept, with hair unbrushed and unshaven”.

A relative told inspectors that sometimes when they visited their loved one they would be in the same clothes for two to three days.

Another said: "Staff don't speak to him as they move him up the bed, I have to do that. He is a person. It's sad, it's thoughtlessness, not considering him as a person."

A third added: “They aren't chatty or caring, they do what they have to do, turn around and walk out."

Staff were also not documenting incidents of distress or physical aggression either between residents or between people and carers.

One carer revealed they had been punched by a resident, while another locked themselves in the office when a person became very distressed.

Inspectors identified at least three incidents where people had been physically assaulted. But they had not been logged, and therefore no review or learning from the incidents could be documented.

Carers were not storing medicines at the correct temperature or administering them according to pharmaceutical guidance, inspectors found.

The report read: “Healthcare advice was not always followed, putting people at risk of deterioration in their health.

“People were not always receiving their medicines as prescribed.

“Staff were not always administering medicines at the times they were prescribed, or recording the reasons why if they had not administered a medicine.

“They were crushing medicine before giving it to one person. However, the pharmaceutical guidance for the medicine clearly states it must not be crushed.”

Other issues spotted during the inspection included cluttered and unclean bathrooms containing disposable and electric razors; unguarded radiators in bedrooms and communal areas posing a risk of burning; broken doors, and people at risk of choking on their food as they were often forgotten to be lifted up by carers.

Inspectors noted: “Many people were cared for in bed without evidence of a valid reason. A relative told us staff often forgot to sit their loved one up while they were eating.

“They said ‘This is why I come in at lunchtime, every day I tell them the same thing. I know they don't sit him up.’”

Priory Mews has since been asked to send a report to the CQC stating what actions are being taken in order to fulfil the recommendations made by the healthcare watchdog.

These include providing appropriate support in a “person-centered way”; providing care in a dignified and caring way; ensuring people’s rights are maintained and upheld; protecting people from abuse and improper treatment; following a process to investigate and monitor complaints; and establishing safe and robust recruitment processes.

Mrs Coleman described the report as a “very hard read”, but she feels relieved that everything has now come to light.

She said: “I felt a huge sense of relief when the report came out. Some of those people in there haven't got family. Some don't see their family until an hour or so at the weekend. They have no voice.

“So having all this information out there now will hopefully change things for them.

“I definitely needed a break, but after what happened, I’ll never send him my husband anywhere. I will take care of him until his last day.”

Dartford councillor Kelly Grehan said a new inspection is taking place and asked to be kept up to date with progress at Priory Mews.

She said: “The CQC report is devastating. I am grateful to the family who raised the alarm - having entrusted their loved one to the care of Priory Mews so that the carer could have a very well-deserved respite.

“It is heartbreaking that they returned to find their relative in a state of distress following neglect.

“During the pandemic I had concerns which I raised with the home, about how staff were being treated and the home has changed home at least twice since then. I think that is worrying in itself.

“Elderly and infirm people deserve good quality care and dignified treatment. Families deserve to know the person in care is being well treated and it's deeply upsetting that residents are being failed at Priory Mews.

“I have written asking for sight of the Improvement Plans and I am glad the CQC is pursuing this matter.”

A spokesman for RCB Health Care said: “Unfortunately, we are unable to discuss individual cases due to GDPR regulations.

“However, we would like to clarify that we do not agree with the course of events mentioned above."

They added: “We only acquired Priory Mews Care Home in September 2022 and unfortunately inherited many issues.

“Since the CQC inspection in February, we have made wholesale and deep-rooted changes, not only to the policy and procedures but to personnel.

“We have hired a new experienced team including a new manager, new deputy, new clinical lead, new nurses, safeguarding lead, and more than 35 nurse-trained care staff.

“These additions have very much changed the culture and fabric of the home in a positive way; these words are of some of our current residents and family members. We are inviting anyone who would like to see the new changes we have made, and continue to make, to please contact us.

“All of our existing care homes are rated ‘good’ by CQC and we are working very hard to ensure Priory Mews Care Home achieves the same standard as quickly as possible.

“Finally, we’d like to thank the community for the continued ongoing support.”