A nursing home for elderly residents with dementia has been told it needs to improve by the national watchdog for care provision.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated Forest Place Nursing Home in Roebuck Lane, Buckhurst Hill, ‘requires improvement’ overall – the second lowest possible grade.

The report, published on January 6, follows an inspection in November 2019.

The service was rated ‘requires improvement’ in four of five inspection criteria and ‘inadequate’ in the criteria determining whether the service is well led.

Forest Place is a residential care home providing care for up to 90 people with dementia and other care needs. There were 52 people accommodated at the time of inspection.

Prior to the inspection, the service had seen an increase in safeguarding concerns raised in relation to skin tear injuries and bruising of unknown cause – CQC inspectors found the incidents were not being reported in line with regulations.

Residents and relative told inspectors they felt “safe and cared for”. One relative said: “I trust the staff, I have never found fault with any of them. I'm here every day so I know what is going on and they are all ok."

Staff were said to treat residents with “kindness and compassion”.

The service was further criticised for failing to provide care plans tailored to individual’s differing needs. Inspectors said: “The leadership, management and governance arrangements were unreliable and did not assure the delivery of high-quality care.”

However, the service was praised for introducing a new management structure which inspectors said was beginning to show results.

Inspectors said: “The new management structure was starting to create a positive and inclusive culture at the service, with a supportive approach, developing strong and productive relationships with the staff team.”

A spokesperson for Forest Place said: “We are disappointed with the findings within the report and to be rated as Requires Improvement, but we recognise the reasons for the current rating.

"As a family business, we are very keen to address the shortfalls at Forest Place, in a meaningful and sustainable way and have, since the inspection in early November, put a more robust management structure in place and are now embedding a new auditing system to drive quality standards and improve monitoring.

“We respect the role of the CQC, and have created a detailed and robust action plan, which addresses all the findings of the CQC inspection. We are making good progress, and this has been noted by other external stakeholders.

“Whilst we are rated as Requires Improvement, the care provided to our residents has not been compromised and the feedback provided by residents and relatives to the CQC was complimentary towards the care provided by our hardworking and dedicated staff.”