OPERATORS of a care home in Bournemouth say they are “deeply disappointed” after being given a ‘requires improvement’ rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Shelley Park Neuro Care Centre in Clarendon House, Boscombe, supports people living with neurological conditions and was previously awarded a ‘Good’ rating by the CQC.

However, after an inspection on October 8, 2021, the rating was reduced after the CQC felt improvement was needed on medicine deployment, accident reporting and management.

The report said: “At the last inspection this key question was rated as good. At this inspection this key question has now deteriorated to requires improvement. This meant some aspects of the service were not always safe and there was limited assurance about safety.

“There was an increased risk that people could be harmed.

“People had risk assessments in place for their care and support. However, assessments were not always detailed enough to ensure actions were taken to reduce the risks for people.

“For example, one person's assessments did not include all of the risks present when they were outside of the home. The registered manager addressed this during the inspection and arranged a full review.

“Environmental risk assessments, fire safety and equipment safety checks were not always carried out on time or consistently. This increased risks for people living at Clarendon House.”

However, the report also stated that residents “felt safe” living in the home and that feedback was generally positive.

...staff at Clarendon House are fully committed to providing the best possible standard of care..."

It said: “Staff were confident they were supported to have the best life possible. 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.

“Everyone we spoke with were positive about the management of the home and felt proud to work with people and their colleagues at Clarendon House.”

The home is operated by Shelley Park, who said they would respond to the report with “urgency and resolve”.

A spokesperson said: “Clarendon House is a care setting registered to support up to eight people who are living with neurological conditions.

“The centre is regulated by the CQC and in all previous inspections has been rated ‘Good’. Unfortunately, following the CQC’s latest inspection carried out in October, its subsequent report found the centre ‘requires improvement’ in two areas, although in all other areas its ratings remain ‘Good’.

“We are of course deeply disappointed by these findings, but the CQC has requested an action plan indicating how we can improve standards. We responded to this request with urgency and resolve, and are confident we have put in place actions that will return the centre to a ‘Good’ rating across all measures.

“We want to reassure all our services users, their families and carers that the management team and staff at Clarendon House are fully committed to providing the best possible standard of care in this field and will drive a process of continuous improvement, not just in response to the CQC report, but at all times.”