A care Bargoed home has been criticised by inspectors for its lack of cleanliness.
Bargoed Care Home, in Heol Fargoed, was the subject of two unannounced visits in October last year by officials from the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales.
They found the home, owned by Four Seasons Health Care, had a strong “malodorous” smell on both visits.
In their report they said: “There was no improvement in the degree or control of odour between the two visits we made. The impact for people living, visiting or working in the home is that their dignity and self-esteem would be negatively affected and positive experiences of living, working or visiting the home will be reduced.
“This is a serious matter and a non-compliance notification was sent to the provider.”
The report continued: “Of the general environment during our visits identified that general cleaning of the home was poor. The home is in need of financial investment and repair to maintain the property to a good standard both inside and outside. The impact for people who live at the home is that they cannot be satisfied they live in a clean, safe, well-maintained environment.”
Despite the care home’s poor state, staff were praised overall for the care they gave.
The inspectors said: “People using the service told us that they were happy and comfortable living at the home and that they felt they were treated with dignity and respect by staff.
“Residents told us that they felt they had control in their decisions regarding their daily lives such as deciding on their choice of meal, what activity they would like to do and they felt they were able to choose the way their care was provided.
“People were consulted regarding their choices and wishes via a process in place for residents to meet to ensure their voices were heard regarding all aspects of their daily life within the home.
They added: “People we spoke with were very positive regarding the staff with comments such as ‘they are lovely’. We saw staff consult and encourage people with everyday decisions and prompting care needs.”
A spokeswoman for Four Seasons Health Care said: “We are sorry that the inspectors found that some areas of the home were in need of refurbishment and that in those areas there were unpleasant odours.
“We have undertaken a programme of improvements to rectify this including fitting new flooring. We had already planned and begun to refurbish the home as part of an ongoing investment programme.
“The background to this is that Four Seasons Health Care took over the operation of Bargoed Care Home and a number of other former Southern Cross homes following that company’s demise.
“Since then we have been carrying out a significant ongoing programme of refurbishment and redecoration in homes that had not had any investment in the later years of Southern Cross ownership. Our programme of investment in these homes runs into several million pounds.”