'Improvement Is Necessary' - Care Home Handed 'Two' Food Hygiene Rating

An Isle of Wight care home recently hit with a food hygiene rating of two has promised a “full kitchen refurbishment”.

County Hall’s environmental health (EH) department flagged a collection of Food Safety and Standards concerns following a visit to Victoria House in Ryde on May 27.

An EH officer identified issues relating to cleanliness, risk of contamination, storage, allergen management, the layout, design and construction of the premises, repair and condition and ‘defective’ walls, surfaces and floors.

The council’s report says:

“The allergen matrices stated they were last reviewed on 5/24 despite the menu having changed for Spring this year.

“The layout of the main kitchen and storeroom was not conducive of good hygiene practice.

"Without a refrigerator in the main kitchen, staff had to exit the main kitchen and frequently walk to the storeroom through a route of carpeted corridors also used by carers and residents to collect and deliver high risk foods, open foods were also taken to this area for cooling.

“The wall cupboards and drawers in the main kitchen showed excessive wear and were in very poor condition.

"These units were in such a condition that they were totally unsuitable for a commercial kitchen carrying out a high-risk food operation in a residential care home.”

County Hall’s report adds ‘it was not possible to keep these (wall cupboards and drawers) units, including the handles clean’ and noted their condition was ‘raised by the officer at the previous inspection on February 3, 2023’.

Operational manager Claire Leggett said:

“A full kitchen refurbishment is already planned, with works starting on August 18.

"All new stainless-steel equipment has already been purchased ready for the new kitchen.

“In the meantime, we continue to follow strict hygiene standards.”