A care home where a resident died alone because there were not enough staff has been branded inadequate.

A damning Care Quality Commission investigation found Southminster Residential Home, which treats 37 patients who are elderly or have dementia, simply did not have enough staff to offer suitable care for them all.

A report, published last week following a visit in March, found there were “not enough staff to provide continued presence to a person at their last stage of life and they died alone”.

Proprietor Azeem Raja said staff were “saddened and disappointed”.
He said: “We are always looking for improvement but to be found wanting in so many ways was a shock.
“It doesn’t, in my view, reflect the experience of our visitors on the ground."