The CQC has found Glencairn Home still in breach of safety regulations despite some improvements made since their last inspection
Dorchester: Glencairn Residential Home has been in the spotlight again. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) issued a warning back in January 2024 about safety issues. They recently checked in again and found that, while there were some improvements, the home is still not fully compliant with regulations.
The owner of the home, Ralph Sanders, insists that the safety and wellbeing of residents is their top priority. He mentioned that they take the CQC’s findings very seriously. During the last inspection, the CQC noted that many records were missing and raised concerns about how medicines were managed.
Fast forward to June 2024, and the inspectors saw some progress. They found that records were now in place and that referrals to healthcare professionals were being made. However, there are still some issues with how medicines are handled. For instance, some liquid medicines weren’t labeled correctly, and a few had to be thrown away because they were unlabeled.
The report pointed out that while there have been improvements, there are still areas that need work, especially with record keeping and managing open stock of medicines. The inspectors noted that the home had a new pharmacy supplier, which helped with the medicines administration records, but there were still some gaps in the information provided.
On top of that, the home has been struggling to keep up with safety checks for equipment like fire alarms and emergency lighting. This became a problem when their maintenance person left in May, leading to sporadic checks that don’t meet the required standards.
Despite these ongoing issues, the inspectors mentioned that there hasn’t been a direct impact on residents’ safety yet. The home has been working closely with the CQC and local authorities to improve their services and has shared their improvement plans regularly.
Ralph Sanders expressed confidence in their progress, stating that both the CQC and Dorset Council have acknowledged their efforts. He believes that the next inspection will show even more improvements, but he’s not taking anything for granted. He appreciates the hard work of his team and the support from residents and their families as they aim for a better CQC rating.
