INSPECTORS have criticised an Andover care home after finding “people were at risk of having their freedom deprived unlawfully” and say it requires improvement in nearly all areas.

Mountwood, on Millway Road, “requires improvement” in all areas except one, which was deemed ‘good’.

Inspectors, who visited the care home in October, found “people were at risk of having their freedom deprived unlawfully” without appropriate assessments and meetings.

They found the provider operated a “locked door policy”, which meant all but one resident could not leave the home without support of staff.

The home had not always shown they had assessed resident’s capacity in making their own decisions.

The report added: “This process had not allowed people the opportunity to maintain their independent living skills regarding their medicines and ability to leave the home unsupported.”

Mountwood, which provides care for people with dementia, did not seem to have an environment that had been adapted to support people to live as independently as possible.

Inspectors said toilet, bathroom and communal area doors did not always have pictorial signage to make identifying them easier.

This had been identified in an audit held two months prior and the manager had ordered appropriate signs.

They also said the changing colours and patterns of the flooring can be disorientating for those with limited eyesight.

It was previously inspected in June 2015 and was found to be breaching three regulations regarding mismanaging food allergy risks, staff not receiving appropriate training and not completing accurate record-keeping.

During this visit, inspectors found the two former breaches had been improved upon but the provider was still breaching the latter issue.

Staff knew when to apply prescribed creams and when people needed their ‘as required’ medicine but inspectors could not see either was well documented.

They feared due to a lack of clear documented guidance, the home could not ensure agency staff administered the correct medicines.

Inspectors said Mountwood regularly used agency nurses to support staffing numbers.

However they added they did not see any medicine errors during the inspection and nurses were correctly completing records to identify people receiving their medicines as prescribed.

The report stated staffing level shortfalls had been identified, but due to staff sickness staffing levels “often fell below the minimum level.”

It added the provider did not have a contingency plan in place to address this risk.

Residents told inspectors they sometimes had to wait to receive care.

The report said: “One person told us, ‘I do feel safe because there are always people around, but you have to wait sometimes for them to be free to help”.”

Inspectors also found relationships developed by staff and residents were relaxed, friendly and caring.

They said: “One person told us, ‘You never get treated badly here, they look after us very well – they are very caring and always helpful’.

“A relative said, ‘I think the caring is absolutely outstanding – the interaction of the carers with residents is so positive and cheerful’.”

A spokesperson for the home said: “The CQC recognised that Mountwood is a caring environment where staff understand the needs of residents.

"We have taken action to address the administrative issues raised in the report and are confident that any future inspection will reflect this.”