A CARE home found to have breached two regulations after inspectors discovered discrepancies with medicine management and reporting allegations of abuse has been told it needs to improve.

Victoria Care Home in Burnley, which provides residential care for up to 48 people over 65, was deemed to 'require improvement' for the fourth consecutive time, following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Officers found a breach in regulations in relation to the management of medicines, and a breach in the level of staffing.

They also found there had been a seven-day delay in reporting one allegation of abuse to the local authority.

The inspection report stated: “This service has been rated requires improvement for the last four consecutive inspections.

“There was a delay of seven days before a plan was developed for one person with complex physical and communication needs.

“While staff had carried out risk assessments, we noted risk assessments had not been carried out in respect of risks posed by one person’s distressed behaviours.”

Victoria Care Home was given the low rating in four out of the five areas assessed by the CQC, including safety, effectiveness of care, leadership and responsiveness.

In particular, inspectors noted that people’s medicines were not always managed safely.

The report said: “We found people were at risk of choking from thickening powder because staff failed to store it in a safe manner, it was not used as directed by the doctor, and it was not recorded accurately.

“The provider had failed to manage medicines safely. This is a breach of regulation 12 of The Health and Social Care Act.”

It was also found that staffing at the care home was insufficient, with some members of staff lacking the correct qualifications and skills, another breach of the Health and Social Care Act.

A spokesperson for Victoria Care Home said: “We take the findings very seriously and, in response to the report, published in March, improvements have already been made within the home with ongoing planning between the homes new manager, the clinical quality team and the Venturi Healthcare senior management team.

“We are working hard to ensure that improvements in the service are achieved and we are encouraged to see that the report found the service to be caring.

“This has clearly been reflected in the dedicated response of the staff team at Victoria Care Home during this unprecedented time within health and social care.

“We would like to reassure everyone of our commitment to providing the highest quality of care to those living at Victoria Care Home and will continue to work closely with the local authority and the Care Quality Commission.”