A DEMENTIA care home in Limpley Stoke has been handed with a poor inspection report by the Care Quality Commission after it found that “improvements were required” in three out of five key areas.

Hillcrest House Care Home, operated by Avonpark Retirement Village Care Homes Limited, on Winsley Hill had an unannounced inspection in January and in areas of effectiveness, responsiveness and management, patients were not getting a “person-centred approach” to their care.

Instead, the report by the CQC said: “They [staff] told us “We care for people as individuals” but we saw there were set routines which meant there was a group approach to care.

“Care plans did not always include people’s histories, preferred routines and likes and dislikes. Care plans we viewed were varied in quality of detail and did not always provide sufficient guidance on how to meet people’s needs.”

Hillcrest House’s previous report last year found similar findings and the January visit was to check on progress after it found there were breaches in the legal requirements of several regulations.

In the report, which was published last week, the CQC found that training and day time activities were not sufficient for the needs of patients which resulted in many not having “the opportunity to experience a variety of regular meaningful activities.”

In addition, the lack of communication between care assistants and their manager found that some patients “may not be receiving care and treatment from staff whose performance and training needs were regularly monitored.”

Despite the three areas of concern, Hillcrest House was found to be ‘good’ in areas of care and safety which is currently provided to 34 patients at the home.

The report added: “We saw the staff use a gentle and supporting approach towards people. The approach used by the staff depended on the person and the situation. We saw staff use a calm approach to help people settle and not become distressed.”

Paul Walsh, care and operations director at Avonpark Village Care Homes Limited said: “This report was completed in January 2015. All of the issues requiring attention have been addressed.”