Shropshire children's home criticised over safety and hygiene issues

Telford-based Bryn Melyn Care Ltd operates 29 care homes throughout the county and North Wales. Concerns were raised about one, in the Shropshire Council area, and Ofsted social care inspector Dawn Bennett carried out a monitoring visit.

Her report questioned “whether staffing levels are adequate” to supervise the young people and prevent incidents and carry out admin, housework and maintenance at the home, which has not been identified.

Chief executive Bob Yetzes said the company, which is headquartered in Snedshill and marks it 35th year next month, “immediately sought to rectify” the faults and put in place additional training.

Ms Bennett visited on May 26, following a complaint the previous week. Ofsted issued two compliance notices and a further unannounced monitoring visit will take place.

Mr Yetzes said: “We were disappointed that matters were not to our usual high standard and we immediately sought to rectify them and put in place some additional training for the staff team.

“Despite the faults noted in the visit, the home remains on a ‘good’ classification from Ofsted as the matters were easily rectified.”

He added that more than 93 per cent of Bryn Melyn Care’s homes are rated “good” or “outstanding” by English regulator Ofsted or the Welsh equivalent, and, where they are not, “this is due to the delay in inspections caused by Covid-19”.

Significant

Ms Bennett wrote: “The manager reviews the young people’s risk assessments after incidents and significant events. However, due to the staff’s poor recording of significant incident records, it is not possible to see whether these new actions are being followed by staff or whether they are successful in preventing future events.

“There are no records of staff debriefs or reflections on practice. There has been no follow-up work completed with the young people to help them understand the impact of their actions.

“The premises of the home are not maintained to as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to their health or promote their wellbeing.

“Hygiene and cleanliness in the home are poor, which presents a health risk to children and staff.

“Kitchens and bathrooms did not have adequate handwashing or drying facilities.”

The report acknowledged positive changes, including the presence of a permanent staff team, in April.

“This has enabled the manager to work off-shift and concentrate on supervising staff and on operational matters,” Ms Bennett wrote.

The staff on duty at the time, she added, talked about incidents and the actions that resulted from them, and described the support they were receiving.

“These are positive early indicators of progress,” Ms Bennett wrote.

But, she added: “If all the staff on shift are required to supervise young people to prevent incidents, it is unclear how they are expected to undertake additional tasks such as cooking, cleaning, the maintenance of the home and completion of paperwork.”