AN Amblecote care home does not employ enough ‘suitably qualified, competent’ staff according to a watchdog which has demanded significant improvements.

The Mount Residential Home on Brettell Lane has been given a ‘requires improvement’ rating after a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection, which was prompted by reported concerns about residents’ safety.

The care home for the elderly was classed ‘inadequate’ in terms of leadership and ‘requires improvement’ in the other four inspection categories – safety, effectiveness, care and responsiveness.

The CQC report noted that the home’s registered manager was absent during the time of inspection because they had been suspended.

And it highlighted recruitment and staffing changes as particular concerns, saying some staff ‘might not have been suitable for working at the home’ and that staffing capacity was ‘stretched’.

The report stated: “The registered provider did not ensure sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent, skilled staff were deployed.

“The registered provider did not make regular checks of the service and had not ensured high quality care had been delivered.

“Although relatives told us they felt their family members were safe, we could not be assured that practices within the home ensured all concerns were recorded and escalated appropriately.

“Practices within the home did not ensure the appropriate stakeholders were notified of accidents and incidents as these occurred.

“Learning from accidents and incidents was also not always shared that might reduce the risk of reoccurrence.

“One person had had a series of falls. We saw from their file they had attended hospital but we could not see any evidence of action that had been taken to update the person’s care.

“We saw during our inspection that there were times when staff capacity was stretched and people were not always able to access help from staff.

“Recruitment processes had not always been completely followed and there was a risk that staff recruited might not have been suitable for working at the home.

“Changes in staffing and within the management team meant that staff did not always receive the correct level of supervision and training.”

While staff were praised by inspectors for their caring manner, the report focused on the recent staffing changes as a reason for concern.

It added: “The registered manager had been at the home for a number of years and had been supported by staff who had also been there for some period of time.

“The registered manager had recently been absent from the home and a number of longstanding care (staff) had left in recent weeks and this had caused anxiety and instability within the home.”

The inspection was carried out in March but its findings were only published this month (July).

The News contacted Mount Residential Home but they declined to comment.