A COLCHESTER care home which failed to provide care and treatment in a safe way and had mould in its bathrooms has been put into special measures.

St Andrews Lodge has been rated inadequate by CQC inspectors after they discovered failings in its approach to safety and leadership.

The care home, rated requires improvement in 2019, provides support to people with mental health conditions or learning disabilities.

At the time of the recent inspection in November, eight people using the St Andrews Avenue complex were considered to be “not consistently kept safe because the provider did not take action to mitigate known risks”.

According to the report, inspectors found hot water exceeding a safe temperature of 43 degrees, putting people at risk of scalding, and “poor” fire safety arrangements.

The report also said the providers failed "to provide care and treatment in a safe way”, detailing how medicine storage arrangements were “not safe” and protocols for medicines prescribed had “limited detail” to guide staff on when to administer them.

Gazette: Report - the inspection was carried out by the CQCReport - the inspection was carried out by the CQC (Image: CQC)

Concerns were also raised over the prevention and controlling of infection.

Inspectors noted three en-suite facilities were “unhygienic” with a “long-term” build-up of limescale and mould around taps.

Comments were also made on the “chaotic” office, “poor” governance, and how two new staff worked for three months before a DBS check was completed.

Despite the feedback, the home was rated good for its effectiveness, care and responsiveness, which was carried over from its last inspection and not looked at by the CQC in this instance.

Sarah Reed, director of Reed Care, which runs the home, said the inspection result caused “great upset”, citing the “strain of inflation” and “financial pressures” as reasons affecting the quality of the service.

She added: “We have already started implementing major changes to ensure the people we support still have outstanding care provided and will be working hard over the coming months to get the rating back to where we used to be.

“The individuals we care for remain happy and I want to assure people the care received within the service has never been questioned.

“The issues raised by the latest report have already been highlighted and dealt with and this remains an ongoing piece of work.”