A DIRTY care home which “smelled of urine” and has suffered three infection outbreaks in a year has been put in special measures by a health watchdog.

Lawnbrook Care Home in Southampton was rated inadequate after an unannounced inspection by the CQC.

The inspection was undertaken in response to various concerns raised about the safety and quality of the service being delivered.

The Lawn Road home has space for up to 30 people, including people living with dementia – there were 29 people living at the home when health inspectors visited.

The report concluded: “People’s safety was compromised.

“Infection control guidance was not always followed; some areas of the home smelt of urine and others were not clean; there was no clear process in place to prevent cross contamination in the laundry room; there had been three outbreaks of infection since April 2016; and appropriate techniques were not in place to prevent the spread of infection.”

Southampton City Council has suspended placing residents in the home, which will be inspected again within six months, however, they are still funding a small number of placements at the property.

A council spokesperson said: “The council is currently funding a small number of placements at the property that were made before the suspension. At this time, we do not consider it to be in the individuals’ best interests to support them to move.”

The service, which cares for elderly people, was deemed inadequate in relation to two out of five areas regarding how safe and effective it is, but also “requires improvement” in the other three categories.

Cabinet member for adult care Warwick Payne, inset, said: “The judgement will have been made by health care professionals. The care home needs to be improved but the disruption may not be deemed worthwhile to the residents.”

Inspectors identified that medicines were not always managed or administered safely.

Inspectors also noted that individual risks to people were not always managed appropriately and risk assessments were not reviewed when residents suffered falls.

The report stated that some of the 31 members of staff “did not follow legislation designed to protect people’s rights”.

People who ate very little of their meals were not offered alternatives – however, action was taken once residents lost weight.

Inspectors were told by residents that staff treated them with “kindness and compassion” and they observed positive interactions between people and staff.

When asked why the building smelt of urine and was not clean, care home manager Pooja Dhoot said: “We are working to make things better, it was unfortunate that it happened on the day of inspection but it was a one off.”

“Since the inspection we have made a lot of progress, we are confident we will pass the next inspection,” she added. “We do not believe any of our residents are at risk.”

, said the manager.

“We spoke to all of the family members personally and they are also confident we will improve.

The home will be be kept under review and inspected again within six months.