A care home has insisted it has made extensive measures to rectify issues after it was downgraded to 'requires improvement' by the Care Quality Commission.

Pendle Brook Care Home in Oswaldtwistle was paid an unannounced visit by the healthcare watchdog on October 5, where it discovered the quality of the service had dipped in the 'safe and well-led' areas from 'good' to 'requires improvement'.

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing, recruitment and infection control, and despite it still being rated as 'good' for the 'effective, caring and responsive' areas, the CQC had to rate the Haworth Street facility as 'requires improvement' overall.

At its last inspection in July, the CQC rated the care home as 'good', with area manager for Rochcare, Lin Spencer, describing the inspection outcome as "a moment of pride for myself and the whole Pendle Brook team."

However, at the most recent inspection the CQC found there to be short falls in a number of areas, including fire safety checks.

The report, dated November 3, said: "The provider had failed to ensure important checks had been regularly completed; these included checks relating to fire safety and the environment.

"No fire evacuation drills had been carried out in a manner which took into account night-time staffing levels. This meant the provider could not be certain staff would be able to evacuate people safely at night in the event of a fire or other emergency.

"Care records did not always show that people had received the care and support they needed which was a breach of regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

"We have also made a recommendation in relation to recruitment processes.

"Some staff had not received training in how to put on and dispose of personal protective equipment (PPE). In addition, the provider needed to ensure all visitors to the home, including staff employed at their other locations, completed the documentation they had in place in relation to testing and any exposure to Covid-19.

"Although the provider had experienced staffing issues, this had not had a negative impact on the care people received.

"The provider told us they were in the process of recruiting to the vacant posts."

Pendle Brook care home rated Good by CQC

The CQC requested an action plan for the provider to improve the standards at the care home, and promised to revisit as per the re-inspection programme.

A spokesperson for Pendle Brook said: "We believe Pendle Brook Care Home provides an exceptional level of care to everyone living at the home and has extensive measures in place to ensure that the people we care for are safe, comfortable, and happy.

"We've taken extensive steps to ensure our staffing levels are safe and consistent and that each member of our team is thoroughly trained in all required areas.

"We regret that in this case, some historical issues impacted the result of the inspection meaning it did not meet the high standards we expect from all Rochcare homes.

"The home now has new management in place and the issues highlighted by the report have mostly been rectified.

"We shall continue to work closely with local authorities, our staff at Pendle Brook and CQC to ensure the areas highlighted in the report are addressed with immediate effect and will continue to ensure that the people in our homes receive the highest standard of care possible."