THE owner of a care home in Bournemouth has called for more support following a damming inspection verdict.

Liam House was graded as ‘requires improvement’ in a recent report by CQC, with inspectors finding the service was ‘not always safe’, ‘not always effective’, and ‘not always well-led’.

But care home owner, Laura Jane Stephens, says she had not received support in 'challenging times' ahead of the CQC visit.

She said: "We have been reaching out to CQC, councils we work with, politicians and medical bodies in regard to numerous concerns that we foresaw would have a negative impact on Liam House as a small care home for over two years.”

Read more: Bournemouth care home closes after 'inadequate' CQC report

The CQC last visited Liam House in 2018 and rated the service ‘good’ but returned in May this year after concerns were raised in relation to record keeping, governance and oversight at the home.

The inspection looked at three areas- the safety of the service, the effectiveness of the service, and whether it was well led. All three points were found to require improvement.

Laura admitted Liam House needed to improve, but said the outcome of the inspection was ‘predictable’.

She added that she had faced the impact of the pandemic, rising costs and staffing problems within the industry, but had received little help when she had raised the issues.

Laura said: “We had great concerns of the negative impact of staffing crisis within the sector and had tried to gain support before things became too difficult, however support accessible to us was not reflective of need and we are an incredibly small voice.

“As such we note that the prioritisation of actual care to our clients had to be paramount and had to accept that paperwork would be completed to the best ability but realistically delayed by providing actual care over evidence of care.”

In a document shared on Facebook, Laura said: “We need better, we need support, we need understanding, and we need those making decisions to truly be aware of and responsible for the decisions they make. Care deserves better, our lovely clients deserve better and our amazing small but great team deserve better.”

Laura said Liam House will continue to work with their interim care manager, a service improvement team at BCP, and the CQC inspectors following the grading.