Covid: St Annes care home criticised after every resident caught virus

Fairhaven Lodge was rated as "good" in its previous inspection by the health watchdog

A care home has been ordered to improve after every resident and carer was found to have contracted coronavirus.

Fairhaven Lodge in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, was praised for its actions at the start of the pandemic.

But the Care Quality Commission has now ruled that it "requires improvement" following an unannounced inspection in December.

"Several shortfalls" in infection control were found after all 11 residents and staff tested positive.

A spokeswoman for the care home said all residents and workers had since recovered and insisted the concerns highlighted were "relatively minor" and "immediately corrected".

Fairhaven Lodge, which looks after people aged 65 and over with dementia, was rated "good" after a previous review in June 2019.

Staff were praised once again during England's first Covid lockdown last year when they chose to isolate with residents for 11 weeks to help protect them.

But the latest inspection found the "service was not always safe and well-led" and its new manager had not registered with the CQC.

• 'Amazing' staff praised for care home lockdown

The report said the care home had not ensured people, staff and others were protected against the risk of infection with "several shortfalls" in infection prevention and control.

These included areas where dusting had not been done and pedal bins which could not be operated properly so had to be touched.

Some equipment had not been decontaminated and the manager had not carried out an infection control audit, inspectors found.

Other concerns highlighted were related to fire safety risks and staff recruitment.

The inspector noted staff used personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriately, staff and residents were tested regularly for Covid and the home had not allowed visitors in since the pandemic began.

The CQC said the home had taken action to address concerns raised during the inspection such as replacing pedal bins and decontaminating equipment.

The care home spokeswoman said the "truly amazing" staff had "done their utmost to protect their residents throughout the pandemic".

She said at the time of the inspection the home's regular staff had been off sick with the virus themselves and agency staff were brought in, which led to some shortfalls.

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