A CARE home where the manager spent time covering other people's shifts has been downgraded by the health inspectorate because of safety and leadership concerns.

Valmark House, in Mile End, Colchester, was inspected over three days in September and October, with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) publishing their findings on Monday in an online report.

In a 19-page document, the CQC inspector concluded that although the service was caring, effective, and responsive, it was not safe or well led.

Valmark House, which is run by Broad Horizons and looks after two people, had previously been rated as good following an inspection in March 2018.

Most recently, the CQC inspector noted there shortcomings in risk management and infection control which “demonstrated a weakness in their checks and audits, which could impact on people’s safety”.

The report added that the provider “had not kept updated with current best practice”.

A second aspect which the CQC inspector identified as requiring improvement was the care home’s leadership, with the provider failing to update staff application forms; this meant a full work history was not always requested for job applicants.

A lack of a service improvement plan was also criticised in the report, and “there was no effective business contingency plan in place to cover staff sickness in an emergency”, the report read.

The registered manager, Samantha Louise Lee, regularly worked 12-hour shifts, and the CQC inspector wrote in the report that she was also providing annual leave cover and support for another nearby service which was also run by Broad Horizons.

The result was that the manager was not being given enough time to carry out their role, the inspector said.

Despite the shortcomings in leadership and safety, inspectors did note there were positives when it came to how caring, effective, and responsive the service is.

Valmark House, the inspector said “put people's needs and wishes at the heart of everything they did” and “were receptive to challenge and welcomed fresh perspectives”.

A spokesman for Valmark House said all the problems in the report had been rectified.

He said: “When the inspector returned, they could see everything had been rectified and was happy with their findings.

“Effective, caring and responsive were all rated as good.

“Valmark House staff will continue to give the continued good quality of care that it has done for the last 25 years.”