A care home has been told it “requires improvement” after an inspection found it had flawed fire safety plans.

Elmhurst Residential Home, in Queens Road, Enfield, received a surprise inspection from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on June 28, with the report published on August 10.

The inspector, described by the CQC as “a specialist advisor in nursing and an expert by experience”, was critical of a lack of risk assessments or plans in case of fire.

They said Elmhurst, which is home to 14 people with dementia, housed three residents on upper floors despite them having limited mobility, and there were no plans for evacuating them in an emergency.

The report says: “Most staff had not received training in fire safety and staff were not aware on how to evacuate people that lacked in mobility living in the upper floors.

“We found a person was high risk of causing fire; risk assessment had not been completed to mitigate this risk.

“Fire evacuation equipment had not been installed to evacuate people in the event of a fire.”

The CQC also reported Elmhurst did not have a registered manager at the end of June, and were told the person in charge was still on their probation period.

The report also called patient care plans “inconsistent and not always completed in full.”

The CQC report did also find areas to praise.

It says the inspector “found improvements had been made with identifying and assessing risks to people. Assessment had been made specific to some people’s circumstances and health conditions.

“No complaints had been made since the last inspection. People told us they felt safe.

“We observed caring and friendly interactions between management, staff and people. People who used the service spoke positively of staff and management. There was an activities programme in place.”

Elmhurst declined to comment.