Prideaux House, a residential care home in Eastbourne, was rated “requires improvement” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection in early 2026.
Inspectors said the provider breached regulations on safe care, treatment and how the home was run.
Prideaux House requires improvement (Image: Google Maps)
The CQC said residents were not always treated with kindness and respect, and high staff turnover meant many carers did not know them well.
On one occasion helping a resident brush their teeth, the report said: “We observed staff were carrying out the task in a forceful way with the person clearly uncomfortable.”
The report added: “We did observe one situation where a staff member raised their voice to a person.”
Inspectors said care plans were thin, with little on residents’ history, preferences or communication needs.
Staff were not properly trained in key areas such as catheter care, despite looking after residents who needed it.
The report said: “There was a high risk of infection if catheters were not cleaned and maintained daily.
“But staff had not been trained in catheter care.”
Inspectors said staff morale was low and the registered manager was not seen as approachable.
The report said: “Accidents, incidents, safeguarding issues and complaints had all been missed and not recorded.
“Staff told us the registered manager was not approachable and there was a lack of opportunities to speak up.”
Supervision meetings were also inconsistent, with some staff not having a one-to-one with their manager for more than nine months.
The CQC said: “People were not consistently treated with kindness and compassion and due to a high staff turnover, most staff did not know people well.
“Staff morale was poor and staff told us they were not supported to have a healthy work life balance.”
Six safeguarding incidents between September 2025 and January 2026 were missed and not reported by the registered manager, but later picked up by the operations manager.
They included skin tears and one resident being scalded by a hot drink.
Inspectors also saw a staff member raise their voice at a resident.
The report said: “Some relatives, who visited the service regularly, have told us they had seen negative interactions when visiting with staff not supporting people in a dignified way, raising their voice and responding impatiently when people did not respond immediately to their questions or requests.”
But professionals visiting the home reported positive experiences with staff.
One visitor told inspectors: “Staff are kind and their (people’s) dignity is looked after,” but others reported negative experiences.
Relatives gave mixed reviews, with one saying staff walked away from residents who needed help eating.
Another visitor said: “She is diabetic and that is managed well.”
Inspectors said recruitment was safe and thorough, with the right checks in place.
Inspectors found the home clean and well maintained, with proper infection control in place.
The CQC said staff answered call bells quickly, but did not always spend enough time with residents to understand and meet their needs.
Prideaux House Care Limited runs the home.
The provider must now submit an action plan to fix the CQC’s concerns and raise care standards for residents.
In March, the CQC also said Grange House care home in Eastbourne needed immediate action over serious fire safety risks and noted it had not had a fully registered manager on site since 2023.
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