OWNERS of a Vale of Clwyd care home have been told they must tighten procedures to prevent elderly residents being put at risk.

Inspectors who visited the Park Lodge Home at Llannerch Park, St Asaph, in February found that improvements called for on their previous visit in October had still not been carried out.

“People do not receive a service that is provided with sufficient care, competence or skill as identified in previous inspections and this continues to be an area for priority action,” says the report by Social Care Wales.

The February visit was organised specifically to check whether the issues raised in October had been addressed, and while some of them had others had not.

Park Lodge, which is registered for 17 residents, is owned by MJS Care Ltd and one of the directors, Davis Sanassy, is the home’s official Registered Individual (RI).

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The inspectors praised several aspects of the home, including the “kind and respectful” staff and improvements in training, but were critical of the higher management.

In particular, they expressed concern at the arrangements for running the home when the manager, the only person qualified to assess residents before agreeing to admit them, was off-duty.

“The RI has done it without being competent to ensure that individuals are not placed at risk or ensure the best possible outcomes for people,” says the report.

“The RI admitted two people and it became apparent that the home could not meet their needs.”

Mr Sanassy agreed with the inspectors that the service needed “a more structured oversight” but said that action had already been taken.

Another concern raised was the number of staff on duty at any one time, prompting the comment: “People cannot be confident that they are supported by a service that provides appropriate numbers of staff who are suitably fit and have the knowledge, competence, skills and qualifications to provide the necessary levels of care.”

The inspectors have issued two new priority action notices.

MJS Care, whose office is on St Asaph Business Park, have been asked to comment.