A HEREFORD care home has been told it requires improvement in its first Care Quality Commission inspection.

Inspectors visited Brockington House Care Community in Hereford's Hafod Road for an unannounced inspection in June, rating the care home, which provides personal and nursing care to up to 70 people, in five key areas.

The home received a 'good' rating in the effective, caring, and responsive categories, but was told it requires improvement in the safe and well-led categories.

Residents were positive about staffing, saying they were never left waiting long, while there were clear systems and processes to safeguard people and appropriate infection control measures were in place.

Needs were assessed and kind, respectful, caring, and appropriately trained staff knew residents well, while people were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet, maintain their independence, and to be involved in decisions about their care.

Residents were satisfied with the quality of care and encouraged to maintain hobbies and interests, with activities and an on-site pub and gym available.

The registered manager, the report said, had established working relationships with other healthcare professionals and residents were encouraged to share their views in meetings and surveys.

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But, the report said, care plans and risk assessments were not always up to date, with information on medication dosages, falls risks, and pressure sore prevention needs not always available.

Wound care plans did not show whether wounds were healing or deteriorating, with the provider confirming after the inspection that staff had received refresher training.

Inspectors said that while leaders and the culture they created supported person-centred care, management was not always consistent.

Problems found included audits identifying areas of non-compliance but a lack of evidence that these had been investigated, and the process for recording concerns, complaints, accidents, and incidents was not used, leaving the home unable to identify patterns or trends to mitigate risk.

A recent fire drill had also not been responded to effectively, the report said.

A spokesperson for owner Dormy Care said: "We are extremely disappointed that the recent CQC inspection has rated us as Requiring Improvement overall.

"We were pleased that we were found to be 'good' in caring, responsive and effective and that people living in the home, their relatives and our staff were so complimentary and positive when they spoke with the inspectors during the course of their visit.

"We are completely committed to ensuring that the care and service being delivered in the home is of the highest standards at all times.

"We have apologised to everyone living in the home and their loved ones for any distress that this may cause and have already implemented changes to our systems and processes to address the areas of concern that were identified."