A CARE HOME which was criticised by inspectors for having ‘dirty bathrooms’ and ‘a strong smell of urine’ this year, has been taken out of special measures.

In January, inspectors visited Altham Residential Care Home, Burnley Road, Clayton-Le-Moors, and rated the service as ‘inadequate’ in terms of safety and leadership.

Now, after a follow-up visit in July, Care Quality Commission bosses gave the facility, which cares for 32 adults with dementia and those who require nursing or personal care, a ‘requires improvement’ rating.

In the report it said: “At this inspection this key question has now improved to good. This meant people were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

“The provider ensured people were protected from the risk of abuse.

“Staff had access to appropriate policies and procedures and training and understood how to raise any concerns about poor practice.

“People told us they felt safe living in the service. One person said, ‘The staff are lovely. They make sure I am safe. I feel safe’.”A relative said, ‘We have no complaints and think she’s safe’.”

The report added: “All areas of the home were clean and fresh smelling. Areas noted at the last inspection had been addressed. Staff told us the cleanliness of the home had improved. One person told us, ‘The staff work really hard to keep everything clean’. A relative said, ‘We saw a big difference in the cleanliness of the home after the last inspection’.

“The provider had systems to help prevent the spread of infection and staff had received training in this area. Additional cleaning staff had been employed and detailed cleaning schedules were followed.

“Staff followed safe infection control practices. Additional systems and guidance were in place to reduce the risk of infection during the pandemic. A healthcare professional told us staff had done a ‘stirling job’ during the pandemic.”

The care home’s bosses were told whilst their service has improved and there are no breaches in regulation in relation to how the service is led, ‘the rating is limited to requires improvement as there are breaches of regulation in the other key questions’.

Raj Singh, managing director of the care home, said: “All the work and improvements that were actually required in the home, were carried out during and following our last inspection in January, this year.

“Although we are disappointed that this inspection has taken longer than we would have liked, due to the pandemic, we are pleased that we have now finally had a re-inspection.”