THE boss of a St Asaph care home where inspectors called for urgent action to reduce the risk to residents has responded to the concerns raised.

Following a visit to the Park Lodge Home in Llannerch Park, near Trefnant, in February, Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) issued two priority action notices and said that insufficient improvements had been carried out since the previous inspection in October last year.

One of the concerns was that only the manager was qualified to assess people before admission and yet, according to the inspectors, the Registered Person, Davis Sanassy, who was not qualified, had admitted two people though it was later found that the home could not meet their needs.

The other main concern was about the number of trained staff on duty at any one time, which meant that residents could not be confident that they would receive the necessary care.

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Park Lodge, which is registered for 17 people, is owned by MJS Care Ltd, of whom Mr Sanassy is one of the directors.

He said that he held the qualification of NVQ Level Five in health and social care, which was recognised by Social Care Wales as the requirement to assess patients’ needs.

“Contrary to what was published in the report regarding my assessing skills, I possess this qualification,” he said.

“Details of the qualification were passed on to CIW when I first applied for the role of RI at Park Lodge.

“Despite this, I have taken on board what CIW had stated in the report and I am actively looking to employ a deputy manager.”

Referring to the staff shortage, Mr Sanassy said it was a problem facing most homes throughout the country and, in addition, when members of staff were ill or needed to isolate efforts were made to take on agency staff, though it was often difficult.

He added: “In this scenario, the responsibility to cover the shift lies in the hands of myself or the manager, who are both experienced at providing hands-on care, to support the other carers on shift and ensure all residents are tended to.”

He stressed that the residents were always well-cared for, as confirmed by CIW and other agencies.