A CARE home has been criticised for offering a lack of independence and insufficient facilities to meet people’s needs.

Bartlett House, in Common Way, Ludgershall, was hit with a critical report of its service by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after visits on November 13 and 14, and December 4, 2018.

The home, run by The Orders of St John Care Trust (OSJCT) was previously rated as ‘good’ in all areas in June 2016, but inspectors downgraded the provider to ‘requires improvement’ in the latest report.

Inspectors said that people lived in three different units in the home, with a secure unit, ‘Down Blue’, providing care for 12 people with a diagnosis of dementia.

But inspectors said: “The Down Blue, dementia unit, was not designed to support the needs of the people living there. The lounge space in the unit was a converted bedroom, with only six chairs, despite 12 people living there.”

The report added: “Some areas of the home also had unpleasant odours, which indicated people’s continence needs were not being supported.”

Inspectors found although falls were monitored and recorded there were some areas of improvement needed.

“We provided feedback to the registered manager regarding this and saw that when we visited on the third day of the inspection, the improvements had been implemented.”

Staff were also not “deployed effectively”, which meant that staff were not available to help residents seeking assistance.

People’s medicine was not always “administered with dignity”, the report adding: “The afternoon medicines round on the first two days of the inspection were not person-centred, it was task-focused and impersonal. People were not greeted, instead they were handed a pot of their medicines, or had them put on the table next to them.”

There was not always a clear managerial vision for how the service could improve and develop, the report noted.

Inspectors said: “Care plans were not always maintained and up to date to reflect current risks, with one person’s plan stating that their doors needed to be locked at night but this had not been updated as it was no longer needed.”

Inspectors found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act, and mental capacity assessments, in which staff would make certain decisions for people, regardless of if the person had the mental capacity to make these themselves, such as leaving the building alone.

But the home was praised for its responsiveness, and inspectors noted that where “complaints were received, these were responded to with each point of the complaint acknowledged and addressed. Meetings took place for people and their relatives to share their feedback.”

Trust operations director Lucy Holl said: “We are disappointed with the overall outcome of the recent inspection and a ‘requires improvement’ rating, although we were pleased to receive a ‘good’ for the part of the inspection relating to being responsive to the needs of those in our care.

“Our team is committed and has already implemented a comprehensive action plan to address the issues raised by the inspectors during their visit and are working hard with our colleagues in the home, and the CQC, to ensure that all steps are taken to make the necessary improvements in a timely fashion.

“Residents and their relatives have been reassured that their loved ones are safe and well cared for at Bartlett House and we encourage them to talk to the home manager at any time if they have any concerns.”