A Rainham care home currently in special measures was reported to the Care and Quality Commission (CQC) by its staff.

As reported by the Recorder in August, the Fountains Care Centre in Theydon Gardens has been given an inadequate rating by the regulatory body following three unannounced inspections in May.

Its latest inspection report read: "The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about wound management, hydration, lack of referrals to other health care agencies and ineffective quality assurance systems."

A spokesperson for Bondcare, which runs the facility, said since the report was published it has changed the home's management to an experienced team with a "track record of success".

It has now come to light that the concerns were raised by staff who were alarmed by the state of a facility where there had been raw sewage leakages three times in just under one year.

The CQC responded by carrying out the May inspections and downgrading the Bondcare facility's rating from good to inadequate.

When assessing the home, which cares for 62 people with conditions like dementia, inspectors found missing, inaccurate or out of date records.

They also discovered some staff had not been trained in how to prevent sores.

“The risk assessment for one person showed they were being treated for a wound and that the dressing had to be changed," they wrote. "However, there was no indication of the frequency of when the dressing should be changed.

“We spoke with two staff who gave different answers as to when the dressing should be changed.

“The risk assessment for [another] person said they should have their blood glucose levels checked every month, but records showed this had not been done since December 2020.”

Inspectors were also told pipes had to be cleaned every few days to prevent raw sewage leaks, which had happened three times since last June.

Relatives reported staff were "caring and [residents] were treated with respect”.

However, the CQC noted they were “not regularly consulted about the service” and added some employees were terrified of losing their jobs for highlighting concerns about the home.

In August, a spokesperson for Bondcare released a statement: "In the months since the inspection, as noted in the report, we have made huge progress including putting in place a new and experienced management team who have a proven track record of success across a number of homes."

The owner was contacted for further comment on September 20 and has yet to respond.