A care home in Bourne End saw its rating drop from ‘good’ to ‘requires improvement’ after a CQC inspection.

The health and social care watchdog paid an unannounced visit to Kingfishers Nursing Home run by an Amersham- based care company Salveo Care Ltd in November and December.

Located on Fieldhead Gardens, the care home looks after 35 older people with physical and mental needs, including people with dementia, through personal and nursing care.

Kingfishers' rating fell from overall ‘good’ rating to ‘requires improvement’, the second lowest rating available.

CQC only inspected the key areas of safety and how well led the care home is, which were both rated at ‘requires improvement.’

The key areas of effectiveness, level of care and responsiveness remained ‘good’, and were not part of the latest inspection.

While most relatives told CQC they were satisfied their family received safe care, some people said the home was “sometimes short staffed.”

A relative said: “I don't feel there are enough staff. The carers are absolutely brilliant. They are doing the care that they need to do to look after [person], but there is rarely any time for them to spend talking to her."

Staffing problems were being addressed through use of agency staff, continuous recruitment and maximising staff retention, the CQC said.

The report said: “Staff told us they worked hard to ensure people's basic needs were met, but some staff told us this meant they worked through their breaks, or used breaks to catch up on recording. Staff prioritised key tasks such as fluids and pad changes. A staff member explained this meant there was sometimes insufficient time for less urgent tasks such as nail care.”

On the first day of the inspection, the CQC found drink thickeners were “insecurely stored.”

Fire drills hadn’t been undertaken in line with fire safety policy, with last fire drill recorded in May 2022 at the time of the inspections in November and December last year.

The risks linked to legionella were not fully managed.

The report said: “The service was responsive to our feedback. Thickeners were removed to a secure location and the provider took steps to address the concerns in relation to fire and water safety.”

People told the CQC that call bell response times varied from “fairly quickly sometimes” to “up to half an hour.” One person reported a response time of 45 minutes.

The provider was planning to install a new call bell system to allow a “consistently prompt response,” the report said.

Comments from “several relatives” said the management team was unresponsive to concerns.

One relative said: "The management team are not responsive to problems I raise.”

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A person at the home described carers as “best in the world.” A relative said her family member is “treated with love and kindness.”

Another relative, whose family member received palliative care, said: “They cared for myself and my daughter as well as [family member], everything was done with kindness and dignity."

Managing Director of Salveo Care Peter Evans commented: “We have already installed a new management team at Kingfishers and all the areas identified as requiring improvement have been addressed in a comprehensive action plan. It is now up to us to ensure that we continue the good work and demonstrate how good the home really is. Kingfishers is a home recognised by residents as a lovely and caring place to live, and we will ensure that the improvements continue to make it the outstanding home our residents deserve.”