A NURSING home where staff raised fears they had to do “two people’s jobs” and did not “always feel safe” has been told to improve for the fourth time in four years.

Mountwood, pictured, in Millway Road, Andover, has been rated as ‘requires improvement’ in all areas except one, which was deemed ‘good’, by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

In 2017 the CQC deemed that action needed to be taken by the home in relation to how safe, responsive, and well-led the service was.

When inspectors attended Mountwood in May they said there had been improvements since their last visit but raised concerns about responsiveness of the home and staffing levels.

Before the inspection, the CQC had received concerns about the number of staff on duty and “people’s care needs being compromised due to lack of staff”.

One staff member said: “I don’t always feel safe being on shift with only two other carers and a nurse. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it is a regular occurrence.”

In their report published on July 2, inspectors said: “Staff consistently told us that at times they had to do ‘two people’s jobs’ because staff had not turned up for work and they ‘had to get the job done’.”

And the home had breached regulations as it had not been resourced with “sufficient numbers of care staff to meet the minimum requirement”.

From March 7 to April 4, Mountwood had relied on 1,338 hours of agency staff, but the manager said that this had reduced in the month following to 726 hours.

Mountwood, which provides care for people with dementia, had also been failing to carry out regular appraisals on staff, but inspectors highlighted that since a new manager had been hired new measures had been put in place to resolve this.

But inspectors deemed a breach had been made, adding: “Staff did not receive appropriate support or training to enable them to carry out the duties they were employed to do.”

The CQC also said that more improvement was needed around social engagement and activities. However, inspectors praised staff for being “kind and compassionate”.

A spokesman for the home said: “We were disappointed by the outcomes of the CQC report, however we welcome any feedback and have already addressed the points raised.

“An experienced manager has been working with the home to ensure all staff receive regular supervisions, and we are confident that at our next inspection the CQC will be satisfied with our progress.”