A CATALOGUE of failures has been recorded at a Wraxall care home where overstretched staff mean residents’ care has been regularly compromised.

The Granary Care Centre hit the headlines last month after it was revealed two employees had been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a resident, an investigation into which is still ongoing.

Now, a report published by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an unannounced inspection in January has revealed major shortcomings in how the dementia care facility is run.

Owned by Shaw Healthcare, the Lodge Lane centre has a care home for up to 60 people and a more specialist unit for up to 18.

Out of seven standards of quality and safety it was assessed on, inspectors concluded The Granary Care Centre was only meeting one, relating to residents’ consent to care.

Those it failed to meet cover safeguarding residents from abuse, residents’ care and welfare, staffing, assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision and supporting workers.

Now, the CQC has demanded Shaw Healthcare takes immediate action.

During the inspectors’ visit, staff told them their numbers had been reduced, which they believed had led to an increase in accidents and incidents at the facility.

When assessing procedures to protect residents from harm, inspectors noted the number of incidents involving abuse, and allegations of abuse, between people using the service was ‘much higher than would be expected of a dementia service of its size’. The high number of incidents had also failed to trigger a change in staffing levels.

Reductions in staff had also affected the amount of time employees could spend with residents and how often they could be taken out.

Staff were also stretched between giving personal care and providing close supervision.

Some residents’ care plans were not being met while others had not been recently reviewed or altered, with one last updated in June 2011.

Inspectors also found that many of those who did work at The Granary Care Centre were overdue training on a range of subjects, with a lack of specialist training described as a ‘significant’ shortcoming by inspectors.

A Shaw Healthcare spokesman said: “The findings of the recent CQC inspection at The Granary have been taken extremely seriously.

“Following receiving a draft version of the inspection report the areas identified as requiring improvement received immediate attention.

“We continue to work closely with North Somerset Council to ensure standards are maintained.”