A CARE home in Romsey has been told it 'requires improvement' for the second year in a row at a recent inspection.

The Care Quality Commission visited Durban House in Woodley Lane and found that while some improvements had been made since last year, insufficient action had been taken to address several breaches of fundamental standards.

In fact, it also identified two new breaches regarding the safety of recruitment and how people were being safeguarded from abuse.

Despite this, inspectors also found relatives felt listened to and said their views were acted on.

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Furthermore, when incidents occurred, the leadership team apologised and gave people honest and transparent information about what had happened.

Published on November 17, the report identified inconsistencies when dealing with risks.

In one instance, a choking assessment did not reflect one person's known history of choking.

On both days of the CQC's inspection, for periods of approximately two to three minutes, the staff member overseeing the dining room left to attend to other tasks, despite it being in one resident's care plan that they should only eat with supervision.

The acting manager has since undertaken an audit of all choking risk assessments and promised further training for staff.

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Falls risk assessments were in place but inspectors said they were not assured that these were always reviewed or updated following an incident.

Following certain types of falls, checks and observations had not continued for a period of time to make sure the person was not deteriorating.

Concerns were further raised about the safety of the living environment.

Inspectors found some of the required records to support safe recruitment were not in place.

Two staff did not have a full employment history recorded, while the home was not able to demonstrate it had obtained satisfactory references for another three employees.

However, it was noted Durban House had upped staffing levels and the family of residents were generally satisfied.

When looking at the management of the facility, the report said the provider had developed a service improvement plan following an external review in April 2022.

Some of the actions in this plan had been signed off as completed, but inspectors noted ongoing concerns in a number of these areas.

Despite this, the CQC spoke to several relatives who were confident that their family member was safe.

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One said: "They keep a very close eye on herthey are always very observantif I wasn't happy mum wouldn't be here, she has high and complex needs, but she gets wonderful care here."

Another added: "Durban House gives me confidence that my mum is well looked after. My Mum recently had an extended stay in hospital and on return to Durban House, her mobility was significantly impaired.

"I feel through the care she has been given at Durban House she has made a remarkable recovery for which we are very grateful."

The care home was rated 'good' for being effective, caring and responsive, but 'requires improvement' to be safe and well-led.

Its last CQC rating was given in 2021 when it was also rated as 'requires improvement'.

Durban House has been contacted for comment.

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