Safety is our top concern, insists Shrewsbury care home after report

A Care Quality Commission inspection found the Lymehurst home, in Ellesmere Road, Shrewsbury, "requires improvement" in four of five areas evaluated.

Responding to the report, Narin Ibrahim, a partner at Lymehurst, said they would address all the concerns raised by the CQC.

Ms Narin said: "We are a caring home and it is the paperwork that needs looking into. We will work with the CQC inspectors to make sure we act on their concerns."

The home provides care for older people and people living with dementia. There were 30 residents living in the home at the time of the inspection by the CQC.

Inspectors praised as "good" the general care provided by staff. But they highlighted a number of failings in the handling of medication.

They also raised concerns that people were not always involved in "best interest meetings" over decisions to resuscitate residents if they stopped breathing. Ms Narin said discussions about resuscitation are dealt with in the "correct way".

Ms Narin disputed the report's claims that a person had not received required medication for eight days, saying it had been provided but that the paperwork had not recorded it.

The report had stated: "One person had not received their prescribed medicines for eight days. We spoke with one of the providers who was unable to confirm whether this person had received their medicine."

Inspectors also found that medicine had been stored in a fridge which was below the correct temperature for 11 days. Ms Narin said the home had acted when they realised there was a problem. She said: "Things break down and as soon as we found out we fixed it straightaway."

She added: "Safety is our utmost concern. We have got families who are happy with our care and it is the paperwork side that we need to make sure is addressed. I would say the home is a safe home."

Inspectors did praise the caring attitude of staff and said residents said they felt safe living there.

Residents informed the inspection team that "staff were always nearby to support them with their care needs", and inspectors observed that people "did not have to wait long for support when needed". The report concluded that "people were provided with care and support that met their needs" and "people's right to privacy and dignity was respected".

The home must now provide the CQC with an action plan on how it will address the issues raised. It will be reinspected on an "unannounced" basis to check measures are in place.