A SOUTHAMPTON care home that cares for elderly patients with dementia has been slammed by health watchdogs for being "unsafe and not well-led".

But staff have expressed concern to inspectors that the "improvements" made could be lost after the inspection is carried out.

Poplars Care Home on Glen Eyre Way in Bassett, Southampton, has been rated as "requires improvement" in its latest Care Quality Commission (CQC) report.

The care home currently looks after up to 14 people who are elderly or living with dementia.

Two out of five categories - "safe" and "well-led" - were rated as "requires improvement".

The other three categories were rated as "good".

The home was rated as "inadequate" in its last inspection in July 2019, but this year inspectors found that the provider made improvements.

Inspectors found that issues from the previous inspection had been "taken seriously", however one member of staff said they were "concerned improvements may not be sustained after this inspection".

Speaking on the recent report, the registered manager of Poplars Care Home said: "I have no comments to add on the report released on May 1 as all the staff worked hard to improve the quality of people's experience who are living at Poplars.

"Staff and management at Poplars coming to work in this COVID-19 situation risking their lives, as well as their families, to look after people who live here deserve nothing but praise."

When asking is the care home was "well-led", inspectors looked for evidence that service leadership, management and governance assured high-quality and person-centred care.

Inspectors identified two areas of the home which were a risk to residents.

One was the edge of an archway which was not identified by a person moving from the dining to living area and went to walk into it, even with staff prompting.

The second was "very little lighting" in the manager's office.

When judging if the home was "safe", inspectors found that there was an "increased risk" that people could be harmed.

Inspectors found that two members of staff did not have a "full employment history" or "reasons for gaps" in their employment documented.

The three most recent staff recruitment records did not have an assessment of any mental or physical health considerations for staff's ability to carry out their role.

The report said that staff told inspectors that "staffing levels had improved" and meant they now "felt people were safe, and their needs could be met".

One person told inspectors that staff were "busy and rushed" at times, but "staffing levels were good" at night.