A Barnet care home that opened in 2004 and closed for maintenance earlier this year needs almost £6million of work to bring it up to standard.

Damaged ceilings and window frames, cracked pathways and leaking roofs are among the issues flagged up in a report into the condition of Apthorp Care Centre in Nurseryman’s Road, Brunswick Park.

Five former residents have died following the closure of the home on 31st October, with maintenance works needed to upgrade fire safety systems.

Barnet Unison and Barnet Alliance for Public Services have called for a public inquest into the closure and its impact on those who lived there.

The report by consultancy firm WSP, which is dated May 2021 and was obtained by a member of the public via a Freedom of Information request, reveals all the existing main electrical switchgear, fire alarm and nurse call equipment in the home is at or beyond its life expectancy.

Although the main heating plant was replaced “approximately a year ago”, the report says the main pipework distribution has “evidence of leaks”.

It also identifies electric cabling fixed with plastic clips and with no containment or fire stopping, along with stained ceiling tiles, which according to the report “points to unclean ducts and lack of maintenance”.

Further problems that need fixing are pathways with deteriorating surfaces, damaged window frames with failed double glazing, and leaks in the mezzanine roof.

The report says the building “has experienced a considerable amount of water leaks in the past that have damaged ceilings”.

The total bill for the issues affecting the home comes to £5.82m.

The report also states: “We did not see any on-site maintenance records when carrying out the survey. Due to the age and condition of the services installation and lack of on-site maintenance records, a comprehensive maintenance regime should be in place.”

Barnet Council outsourced its care homes in 2001.

Apthorp, set up to care for people with dementia, mental health conditions and physical disabilities, was sold to Catalyst Housing (then Ealing Family Housing Association) and run by a charity, The Fremantle Trust.

After being demolished and rebuilt, the care home was fully reopened in 2004. But it was brought back under the control of council care arm Your Choice Barnet in July 2019 after a damning report by the watchdog Care Quality Commission rated the home ‘inadequate’.

Barnet Labour leader Barry Rawlings said there were “questions to be asked about how Fremantle had allowed the building to get into such a condition”.

Helen Davies, chair of Barnet Unison, also raised concerns over the report, asking who was carrying out and monitoring repairs at the home.

She said “alarm bells” should have been raised following the discovery of legionella bacteria at the home in 2018.

The Fremantle Trust said all documents were transferred to Your Choice Barnet when it handed over the home in 2019 but made no further comment.

Catalyst Housing was approached for comment but said responsibility for the building and its maintenance sits with Barnet Council.

Dawn Wakeling, the council’s executive director for adult social care, said: “Barnet Council and our partners are committed to providing excellent care for the most vulnerable adults in the borough.

“We are investing an additional £16m over the next four years in new specialist facilities that will add extra capacity for more than 150 residents. We are expanding our care workforce and giving all the training and skills they need, and with four other North London councils, Barnet has secured £2m in funding to achieve this. The Proud to Care programme provides support to our highly valued carers and is recruiting many newcomers to our growing workforce.”