THE manager of a Minehead care home has defended the home after a new CQC report found it 'requires improvement'.

The CQC grades care homes in five categories - and Banbridge House on The Esplanade received a 'requires improvement' rating in four of the five categories following an unannounced inspection at the end of June.

The residential care home caters for up to 19 people, but there were nine living there at the time of the inspection.

The CQC found that the service was not totally safe, with the report stating that standards of hygiene in the home placed people at the risk of infection and did not always promote a pleasant working environment.

Other findings in the report included:

- Staff had not all received up-to-date training which could potentially mean people did not receive the most effective care to meet their needs

- The service was not well led. There were no systems in place to monitor practice or ensure

ongoing improvements for people

- The provider had not kept up with routine maintenance to ensure people lived in a pleasant and safe environment

- There were limited opportunities for people who were unable to occupy their time to take part in activities

However the report did find that the staff were kind, patient and caring, they respected privacy and confidentiality and were welcoming to family and friends.

This is the second time Banbridge House has been found to require improvement in consecutive reports after the CQC gave the home the same grade following another inspection in August 2014.

Manager Tina Boswell responded to the report, saying plans to improve the home were in place.

"Improvements have been made in the standard of hygiene in the home, and this has been improved by a new maintenance programme and a new cleaning programme," she said.

"Regarding ongoing improvements for the home, there had been improvements in the last 12 months, but these had not been documented at the time.

"Banbridge House always has a warm and friendly atmosphere and visitors always comment about what a nice home Banbridge is.

"Regarding the service not being well-led, this has been a difficult time for the manager who had been in and out of hospital in the last six months, since returning full time standards are now being met."