A Swansea care home has been ordered to pay more than £8,000 after admitting three food hygiene offences. The company behind Ashgrove House in Swansea Road, Waunarlwydd, pleaded guilty to three criminal charges.
Ashgrove (Swansea) Limited was handed fines and costs totalling £8,470 during a November hearing at Swansea Magistrates' Court. It came after Ashgrove admitted the following offences:
- On September 28, 2021, the care home breached a regulation by failing to implement and maintain a food safety management system.
- On October 18, 2021, the care home failed to comply with a remedial notice which had been served on August 24 that year.
- On December 6, 2021, the care home failed to comply with a remedial notice which had been served on August 24 that year.
Ashgrove had been charged with six other offences which were withdrawn. These charges were that the care home had placed on the market some foods which were alleged to be unsafe for human consumption. These foods were sandwich fillings, 110 Ubley yoghurts, 40 Arla butters, six raspberry and marmalade jams, three bags of ground almonds, and two Rowse honey pots according to the charges which were later dropped.
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A spokesman for the business said it pleaded guilty to three offences on "a very limited basis of no harm being caused to anyone". It says there was an "agreed basis of plea and case summary which was also accepted by the court and sentenced accordingly". The fines came to £6,000 on top of £2,280 in prosecution costs and a victim services surcharge of £190.
The care home had received a zero food hygiene rating following a Swansea Council inspection in August 2021, which found "urgent" improvement to food safety was needed. Ashgrove no longer has a rating on the Food Standards Agency website though a report by Care Inspectorate Wales last year found that all parts of the home were "clean and hygienic". The care home's Google-listed phone number does not appear to be in service.
The business had net assets of £213,995 in 2021, according to its latest accounts. Ashgrove House had capacity for 55 residents but there were far fewer by the time Care Inspectorate Wales carried out its last inspection of the site.
The Care Inspectorate Wales report from March last year read: "At the last inspection [in January] we found that the service was not meeting legal requirements in relation to standards of health and safety. As a result we took enforcement action. Ashgrove House has now improved its standard of health and safety. Most of the home is unoccupied as there are very few residents who are currently being accommodated on the ground floor. We found all parts of the home to be clean and hygienic."
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