FIVE months after being told it must pull its socks up, an Old Town nursing home remains off the pace when it comes to meeting national healthcare regulations.

Princess Lodge Care Centre, in Curie Avenue, was slated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after a July inspection found it was “unsafe, ineffective, careless, unresponsive and poorly-led”.

In October, another CQC inspection found improvements were in evidence, but a new report out this week has found more work is needed.

There are signs of optimism at Princess Lodge however, where the number of breaches under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 have been halved since the summer, with four recorded in Monday’s release.

And bosses say that in time, improvements will show through.

Advances in meeting nutritional needs, improved safeguarding measures and quality monitoring, were all noted by inspectors.

However, shortfalls were found in basic care and welfare, staffing levels, supporting workers and the keeping of care records.

The report said: “People were not always supported in line with instructions in their care plans and some care plans did not provide sufficient instructions to staff on how to support people.

“There were not always enough skilled and experienced staff to meet people’s needs. This affected the time people were able to get up and when they received their medicines.

“Staff did not always have the time to interact with people unless they were involved in providing a care task. Staff were not always supported to improve the quality of care through training and the supervision and appraisal process.”

Inspectors were aware a total turnaround could not be expected overnight and praised the work of the new registered manager, who had been in post since November.

“The registered manager had a clear understanding of the changes and improvements that were required,” inspectors said.

“People, their relatives, visiting health professionals and staff recognised that improvements were taking place.

“People told us they liked living at the home and were treated in a caring and friendly way.

“People and their relatives were complimentary about the permanent members of staff.

“People were supported with their personal care discretely and in ways which upheld and promoted their privacy and dignity. People’s nursing and health care needs were met. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s individual needs and preferences.

“People were supported to make decisions about their care and to maintain their physical health.”

Felicity Somerville, clinical and operations director at Life Style Care, which runs the centre, said: “As you will be aware this inspection was carried out a while ago.

“It takes time to embed good working practices and make progress with the improvements at Princess Lodge.

“It is fair to say that significant advances are being made in all areas of the home and we look forward to the next inspection. It is true that the home has boosted staffing numbers with the use of agency staff until sufficient suitable permanent staff have been appointed and commence.

“This work is well on the way to completion and the manager and her team are building a stable, well-trained team of suitably qualified and dedicated staff.”