Ely care home makes rapid improvement following poor report

AN Ely care home has made rapid improvements since it was urged to raise standards earlier this year by the Care Quality Commission.

Vera James House, in Chapel Street, was visited by inspectors back in April and found wanting in several areas, prompting the commission to issue a list of improvements it wanted made by the end of the year.

Inspectors found in April that not all areas of the home had been kept adequately clean, people living at the home had not always been involved in the review of their care and there were no guidelines in place for staff regarding when people should be taking medication.

Inspectors gave management less than six months to make improvements before they visited again in September.

In its latest report, the CQC said: “At a previous inspection in April, we found that not all areas of the home had been kept adequately clean. During this inspection, we found the home to be clean and there were no offensive odours.

“The manager informed us that after the previous inspection they had employed a company to carry out a two day deep clean of the home.”

Vera James provides care and support for 41 elderly residents and is owned by the CHS Group, which runs two other care homes in Cambridge.

The report continued: “At a previous inspection, we found that people were not always protected against the risks of unsafe premises but during this inspection, we found that improvements had been made to the environment.

“Clearer signage, so that people could find their way around the home easier and locate their bedrooms, was in place. We also saw that pad bins and laundry baskets had been removed from the bathrooms so that there was more room.”