A CARE home in Blackburn has been placed in ‘special measures’ after inspectors found a shared bedroom which required a deep clean and safety concerns were raised about a pan left on a stove.

Feng Shui, in Preston Old Road, has been rated as ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after an unannounced inspection at the start of August found standards had slipped since a similar review in February.

Bosses now have six months to turn around the fortunes of the home, which was catering for 12 residents at the time and is one of three run under the same branding in Lancashire.

Their visit uncovered a number of breaches of care regulations – and practices which required immediate intervention.

An inspector said: “A bedroom shared by two people was dirty and required immediate attention and a thorough clean to prevent the risk of infection.

“Medicines were not always stored safely and there was concern over the absence of policies around the use of covert medicines and medicines that were provided on an ‘as required’ basis.

“Inspectors had to intervene with one person who was being helped to eat unsafely and not consistent with the direction from health care professionals.

“People had access to harmful substances in an open room and the kitchen was left open with a hot pan on the stove.

“Clinical waste was stored in bags and not in bins in an area outside of the home that meant that it was unsafe for people to access that area.”

Inspectors say residents felt they were able to raise any issues of concern with staff and were happy with their stay at the Cherry Tree facility.

But inspectors detailed further worries with the proper moving and handling of residents, which left people at risk of injury, and noted consent had not been sought for CCTV monitoring and recording within the home.

One window in an upstairs communal bathroom did not have any restrictions, which may allow someone to fall and injure themselves. And a hot water tap’s temperature presented a scalding risk to vulnerable residents, it was found.

Recruitment systems were called into question, with staff checks not considered to be robust enough.