A DOWNEND care home is “not safe”, according to inspectors from the Care Quality Commission.
The health and care regulator returned to Edgecumbe Lodge care home in Overnhill Road in June after a previous visit in February found the service, run by Serenity Homes Limited, was in breach of regulations relating to medicines and infection control.
Its latest report, published in October, found that while medicines were now stored and managed effectively, and staff had been trained in administering them, new safety concerns had been found.
The home, which has accommodation for up to 21 older people and those with dementia, was given an ‘inadequate’ rating for safety and ‘requires improvement’ for effectiveness and leadership. It received an overall ‘requires improvement’ rating for the third inspection running.
The CQC said its latest visit was in response to “health and safety concerns” raised by South Gloucestershire Council – but inspectors had identified “additional concerns” while they were there.
Inspectors said that while some previous health and safety risks had been rectified, a number had not been addressed.
The report said: “Some aspects of the premises and equipment were not clean or properly maintained, which created a hazard around infection control.
“The provider and registered manager’s oversight of environmental risk was poor.”
The inspectors said an electrical report from four years ago had identified “urgent” work that was needed but had not been carried out “in a timely way”.
They said: “Some rooms had no window restrictors, which meant they would open wide enough for people to potentially fit through.
“We also found frayed cables connected to an electric armchair and wall fans in people’s rooms causing a trip hazard.
“Some fire doors on the ground floor of the home did not close properly. The provider was unaware of this.”
The CQC said a folder with instructions about which residents needed to be evacuated in an emergency was not up to date.
The report said: “The last maintenance person had left some months ago. The provider was struggling to find a handyman and any minor work was being carried out by the building company that was onsite.
“We found no evidence that people had been harmed, however improvements were required to protect people through infection control practices.”
The report did say that residents felt safe at the home, with relatives also feeling confident in it.
The CQC said: “People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.”
The Voice has asked operator Serenity Homes Limited to comment on the report.