Barleycroft Care Home, in Spring Gardens, was given the rating after an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in May.
The home was found to be in breach of legal rules relating people’s safe care, health and safety and the management of the service.
Other areas – including how effective, caring and responsive the home is – were not assessed as part of this inspection, and therefore kept their previous ‘good’ ratings.
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A report published on July 29 reveals that there was “limited assurance” about safety at the home and an “increased risk” residents could be harmed.
Inspectors discovered that three fire doors were not closing fully on the day of the visit and that people had access to a dispenser in the kitchenettes which put them “at risk of being scalded from boiling water”.
The doors were adjusted on the day, according to the report, while inspectors also asked the manager to take immediate action on the dispenser to ensure people – particularly those with sensory loss – were safe.
The report also details that some risk assessments were “not comprehensive”, such as there not being “clear guidance” on when staff needed to call an ambulance if someone was having a seizure.
In one case, inspectors found that a resident with a medical condition had no risk assessment to cover actions to be taken if they became unwell.
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The report said: “We also identified that some vital information in peoples’ care plans and risk assessment were missing regarding their epilepsy and diabetes, which could have resulted in a potential risk to people if staff were not aware of their support needs and how to keep them safe from potential harm.
“The above evidence shows that the provider did not have effective systems to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service.”
Inspectors did offer some praise to the care home.
They wrote: “Lessons were learned from incidents and accidents to help prevent their re-occurrence.
“The provider had policies and procedures regarding the prevention and control of infection, and they kept the staff up to date with relevant national guidance.
“The service had suitable arrangements to protect people using the service against risks associated with the unsafe management of medicines.
“There were quality assurance and governance systems in place to drive continuous improvement.”
A spokesperson for Abbey Healthcare, which owns Barleycroft Care Home, said in response to the report: “We are extremely disappointed at the recent grading and proportionality of two of the themes [safe and well-led], especially when the bulk of the report is very positive and the remaining three themes remain ‘good’.
“We continue to challenge this rating as per the legal procedure.”
