A CARE home has been given six months to improve after government watchdogs placed it in special measures.

Winsford Grange Care Home was told it requires improvement following the three-day inspection in May by the Care Quality Commission.

The inspector's report said: “This service will continue to be kept under review and, if needed, could be escalated to urgent enforcement action. If there is not enough improvement, we will take action to prevent the provider from operating this service.”

Relatives of residents living in the home described it as being unsafe in a report published by the CQC which the deemed the overall service to be ‘inadequate’.

At the last inspection, in March 2015, the service was rated as good. The CQC in relation to safe care and treatment, personalised care, dignity and respect, record keeping and good governance.

The report said: “Management of medicine was deemed unsafe with a potential risk of harm. In some instances, the service failed to ensure residents medication was in date and stored correctly.”

It also said that, where risks to health and welfare were identified, a risk assessment and management plan were not always in place to assist staff in minimising the chance of future harm.

The service is advertised as a dementia specialist service but inspectors reported that the environment 'did not have the sufficient adaptions made to aid and support people who are living with the condition'.

Whilst care plans were in place to assist staff in providing the correct level of care and support to a person, these were not accurate, up-to-date or complete.

The report outlines how residents did not receive care in line with their needs and wishes and, at other times, a person's dignity or respect was compromised due 'a lack of response by staff'.

Residents and relatives were also quoted in the report’s findings that there were 'long periods of the day with nothing to do', with inspectors making a recommendation to review the activities offered and reflect the needs of people at the service.

The report added that some people felt that their verbal complaints not listened to. It was recommended that the provider should review how they record and respond to all complaints.