'Dirty and unsafe' care home for elderly in Milton Keynes ordered by CQC to make urgent improvements

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated Bay House in Olney as inadequate and kept it in special measures to “protect the safety and welfare” of people who live there.

They visited the Weston Road premises earlier this summer to follow up recommedations made from a previous dissatisifed inspection.

But they again rated the place as inadequate overall, particularly regarding how safe and well-led it was.

Their report states: “The environment was unsafe, placing residents at significant risk of harm.”

The ratings for responsive, effective and caring were not inspected and remain rated as good.

The inspectors were not happy, however, with the cleanliness and safety of the premises. And now they have taken further regulatory action to “protect people”, they said.

Their report describes how window restrictors were missing from some windows on the first floor and where they were installed, they didn't meet Health and Safety Executive (HSE) requirements.

“This poses a risk of falls from height for the residents,” it states

It adds: “Fire doors didn't always function correctly, with missing smoke seals and doors that failed to close properly.

Inspectors found medicines were not always managed safely and there were instances where residents were at risk of receiving incorrect medication due to poor record-keeping and unclear instructions for administering topical medicines.

"This also increased the risk of infection, as creams may have been shared, said the report..

It adds: “Multiple areas of the home were visibly dirty and could not be properly cleaned, increasing the risk of infection.

"There was damaged and rotten flooring in a bedroom, as well as evidence of mould.”

The inspectors said leaders at Bay House did not “promote a learning culture”. They did not report incidents effectively and incidents were not actively investigated, said the report.

Bay House is owned by Olney Care Homes Limited and is advertised as taking older people and people living with dementia.

The full inspection report will be published on the CQC website later this week.