Luton care home under new management after being warned over breaching regulations
A care home in Luton says it is now under new management after being issued a warning by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The CQC published a report this month following visits made to St Anne’s Care Home – and says it found five breaches of the rules when inspectors visited between June 13 and July 18 2024.
These were in relation to “safe care and treatment, meeting people’s nutritional and hydration needs, the premises and equipment being unsafe, people being supported with person centred care and governance arrangements.”
But a spokesperson for the care home in Lansdowne Road, which looks after those with dementia and who require personal and nursing care, said it immediately took action to rectify the issues – and is now under new management.
In the report, inspectors said they saw “staff treating people with kindness and respect” and service users gave positive feedback about how staff supported their independence.
But there was “mixed feedback from people and their relatives about their care”.
The report stated: “...our assessment found people were not being supported in line with the expected standards. Not everyone living at the service felt safe.
"People’s religious and cultural needs were identified but were not always met, for example in relation to their dietary needs.”
Recruitment of staff was flagged as an issue with the report stating: “Staff were not always recruited safely, we identified gaps in recruitment records during this assessment.”
The inspectors also said: “We received mixed feedback about staffing levels and the availability of staff to meet people’s needs. As no system was in place to assess staffing levels, the provider could not be assured appropriate staffing levels were in place.”
People and their relatives told the CQC they knew how to make a complaint, but gave mixed reviews about how they were dealt with.
The report added: “There had been no improvement at the service since our last inspection and some areas of the service had deteriorated.”
A spokesperson for the care home said: “The owner of St Anne’s Care Home has taken the appropriate course of action with the support of CQC and the Local Authority to address and rectify the concerns immediately.
"The care home is now under new management. All the refurbishment works have now been completed including a new kitchen which has just received a 5 rating.”