Rhallt slated by Food Standards Agency report

The Rhallt residential care home has promised to get its act together after a Food Standards Agency report gave it a zero rating.

In a 12-page report obtained by MyWelshpool through a Freedom of Information request, the inspector’s October visit revealed some shocking problems and said that “hygienic handling of food, including preparation, cooking, re-heating, cooling and storage” required major improvement.

Such was the inspector’s concern about raw food preparation and storage on the visit day, the Rhallt’s kitchen was closed down temporarily to carry out immediate action.

“Because of the total disregard for procedures to control cross-contamination, it was necessary for the kitchen to be taken out of use temporarily, and another caterer was used to provide residents’ meals,” the report states.

In relation to cleanliness, the Rhallt was also found to be lacking with the report stating that “the standards of cleanliness in the kitchen were generally very poor; a thorough deep clean and disinfection is required”.

It added that “many items of equipment with which food comes into contact were also found to be in a dirty condition” and that there was “no food safety management procedures”.

A number of recommendations were provided and Barchester Healthcare, who run the 82-bedroom home, said they have already taken swift action to address problems.

“We take the findings of the Food Standard Agency very seriously and we recognise that changes needed to be made swiftly as the report identified,” a spokesperson told us.

“Following the inspection we put a number of measures and improvements in place immediately. These included a deep clean of the kitchen, the purchase of new equipment, extra training for staff and the recruitment of a new head and sous chef.

“We are awaiting a follow up inspection and are fully confident that the resulting rating will be significantly improved. The health and wellbeing of our residents is of the utmost importance to us and our absolute focus is to continue to deliver a high quality of care.”

The Rhallt shares a site with The Lodge, a boutique home with nine rooms that provides care for people over the age of 65 and received a ‘two’ rating earlier this year.