A CARE home in Weymouth has been placed in special measures after a Care Quality Commission report highlighted a number of concerns, including a fire alarm being disabled hours before a fire broke out.
Bosses at Trafalgar Care Home insist they have taken 'immediate action' and are confident the home is now 'both safe and well led'.
They said a 'sustained Covid outbreak resulting in the majority of team members having to isolate, disrupting normal work patterns and established good practice' was partly to blame.
Inspectors visited the home - for people with dementia and cognitive impairment - in August amid concerns over fire safety and staffing.
The report said: "People waited for support in unsupervised communal areas and people's care plans related to safe eating and drinking and skin care were not followed. People were not protected from the risks of cross infection because staff did not wear their PPE in line with guidance. Environmental risks were not always well managed.
"A fire alarm system was silenced when damaged and this meant that when a fire started the alarms did not sound and some bedroom doors did not automatically close.
"Whilst no one was injured in this fire, safe practices were not followed.
"Staff told us they did not always feel well supported and that their training and supervision sessions were not up to date. This meant they were not confident they had the skills and knowledge they needed."
The report added: "People told us the staff were kind and we saw this was the case, however, staff were not deployed in a way that met people's needs."
The Dorchester Road home, which is run by Agincare and was previously rated as 'good', will be reinspected within six months to check for 'significant improvements'.
A spokesperson for Trafalgar Care Home said: “The health and welfare of our residents and team members is absolutely paramount, and we take the CQC’s report extremely seriously.
“Following the inspection in early August, we took immediate action and I am confident that Trafalgar Care Home is now both safe and well led.
“Trafalgar Care Home has historically been rated Good by the CQC with a dedicated team and longstanding Registered Manager. Throughout the majority of the pandemic, various checks on the home found good practice, with positive feedback on the care and infection control. Regretfully, before the CQC inspection this year the home was struck by a sustained Covid outbreak resulting in the majority of team members having to isolate, disrupting normal work patterns and established good practice. Agency staff were being used in high numbers, again something the home had not previously had to utilise. The care home team acted promptly to call the fire service on the discovery of a small fire, and the fire service responded within minutes.
“We have introduced an intensive package of ongoing support and training which specifically addresses not just the concerns highlighted by CQC, but includes broader supportive measures for the care home team, now led by a new manager.
“We accept and apologise that there were areas where the home fell short of the expected high quality at the time of inspection. No areas of concern were identified in the other key areas (effective, caring and responsive) and these retain their ‘Good’ status within the CQC’s inspection report.
“We continue to work closely with the CQC, and look forward to their next visit when we expect they will find significant improvements.”
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