A CARE home has been slammed by watchdogs for failing to provide adequate care for its residents.
A Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, published on La Luz Residential Home in High Street, Tadworth, last month, criticised the home for not regularly updating care plans, not taking adequate steps to protect people living or working in the home, not always carrying out employment checks and not ensuring sufficient staff were on duty.
But Angel Soto, who has managed the home for 17 years, condemned the report as "biased" and "unfair" and has launched an official complaint against the inspector involved. He is also considering taking legal advice after being issued with four formal improvement warning notices.
"I've already put in a formal complaint. When the inspector first came in she said to me 'I have to take care of my grandfather because I don't trust care homes'. When she was leaving she said, in front of relatives of one of our client's, that we had nothing to worry about. She said the care home was clean and residents were well looked after."
The care home manager added: "I've been here for years and these issues have never come up."
Ian Biggs, deputy director of the CQC in the South, said: "We check the national standards of quality and safety in care that the law says everyone should be able to expect. These standards exist to protect people who cannot always speak up for themselves from being put at risk of harm.
"Care plans must be complete and up-to-date, and people should be cared for by enough suitably qualified and trained staff to meet their needs. Our inspectors identified multiple failings at this home which required immediate attention."
The authority could not confirm whether it had received a complaint from La Luz, but added: "Where a provider fails to meet the basic national standards for care, they are breaking the law.
"The issues identified at La Luz Residential Home were very serious and in need of immediate attention. This is why CQC issued the provider with formal warnings to put them right.
"When CQC carry out an inspection, providers are given right of reply to the contents of a report before it is published. These comments are considered closely, to ensure that any public information accurately reflects the level of risk to people."
He added that inspectors will be returning to the home in the near future unannounced, and if improvements have not been made, legal powers will be used to protect people living in the home.
