Inspectors say Leicestershire care home was 'visibly dirty'

Holmes House Care Home has been told to make improvements

A care home has been ordered to make improvements after inspectors said areas of the building and furniture were "visibly dirty".

Holmes House, in South Wigston, Leicestershire, was criticised for leaving residents "at risk of harm" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The home, which previously had a "good" rating, now "requires improvement".

Prime Life - which runs the home - said it had implemented an improvement action plan.

Rusty radiators

Medicine management was also criticised, with inspectors suggesting the Kenilworth Road home "put people at risk of not receiving their prescribed medication", according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Infection control was also noted as a cause for concern, with the report stating: "Areas of the home and furniture were both visibly dirty."

Rust was found across the home, on radiator covers, window frames and toilet flush pull cords, meaning they could not be cleaned and put people at an infection risk, inspectors said.

The provider was also "not always aware of their legal requirement" to notify the CQC of incidents.

Inspectors said they found a "number of incidents which the provider failed to notify" the CQC about.

Management within the care home were criticised in the report, with inspectors suggesting there was a "lack of effective managerial oversight".

'Plan in place'

Despite the criticisms, the CQC praised the care home's staff and said that residents and their families reacted positively to them.

Simon Van Herrewege, chief operating officer for Prime Life, said: "We were disappointed as some issues raised within the report had already been identified by our own senior management and governance procedures with an action plan already in place, as disclosed on the day of their visit.

"We have clear expectations of our services, and have implemented said action plan for those areas identified as requiring improvement."