Mill View Care Home in Bridgeman Street was inspected by the education watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), from March to May this year.
Inspectors said that they found three breaches of legal regulations regarding safe management of medicines, risk management and staffing.
They said that the provider “did not always make sure there were enough staff”.
Staff were seen to move “hastily between tasks” and “did not have time to support people to engage in meaningful activities and stimulation”.
A spokesperson for the care home said that they “do not agree” with “many of the findings of the CQC’s recent report”.
They said they are contesting the report and have already implemented a “robust action plan”.
They said that they face challenges from “chronic underfunding in social care” which makes it “difficult to recruit trained staff for the delivery of safe care”.
Inspectors said that some residents were left for long periods of time without interacting with staff.
One resident said: “The staff are fine, they try their best but there are not enough of them.
“I am two to one [staff ratio] so if I need the toilet, I usually have to wait a while.”
Staff members also told inspectors that there were not enough of them, according to the report.
They said: “We are probably short-staffed once a week on average. Breakfast time is really hard, it can be 12 before everyone has eaten.”
Inspectors said that for people on prescribed medicines patches, there was a record of where they were applied, but staff hadn’t always rotated the location.
Inspectors said that for two people on paracetamol-containing products, they had been given doses too close together.
They said that for one person on time-sensitive medicines, this had not always been given at the prescribed time.
Inspectors said there was a lack of activities in the home, and asked residents if their social and recreational needs were being met.
One said: “There’s not much going on, I stay in my room a lot,” and another said: “There’s not a lot to do, except watch TV.”
However, residents spoke highly of the staff who cared for them – especially those they had known for a while and bonded with.
One said: “The staff are very helpful, couldn’t be better”.
Inspectors said that the management team had changed in the three months before the inspection – with a new home manager and clinical unit coordinator.
Have a story? Get in touch at eoin.mccaul@newsquest.co.uk
Some relatives and most of the staff said that these had been positive changes – and described the new home manager as “visible, approachable and down to earth”.
One relative said: “There is a new manager, only been here a few weeks, but seems good.
“It’s what they need here, a manager going actively round and sorting things out.”
One staff member said: “The service has improved significantly.
“The management are much more helpful and the culture is much better.”
Another staff member said: “[The manager] is competent and has the appropriate experience to do the role.”
A care home spokesperson said: “The safety and well-being of our residents is our highest priority.
“We do not agree with many of the findings of the CQC’s recent report and are contesting it with evidence, those that are relevant are being urgently addressed.
“A robust action plan has already been implemented and local authorities urged to complete assessments of high dependency residents and resource them appropriately.
READ MORE: Ashurst Care Home in Heaton inspected by CQC watchdog
READ MORE: Lifeways Community Care Limited ‘needs improvement’, says CQC
READ MORE: Beaumont Hospital in Bolton given ‘good’ CQC rating
“As the government and the regulator is aware, these challenges emerge due to chronic underfunding in social care and delays in local authority assessments for high-dependency residents, which place considerable strain on resources.
“Without adequate resource commitment by the authorities, who pay below the cost of care, it is difficult to recruit trained staff for the delivery of safe care.
“Despite this, we continue to deliver compassionate safe care, and we are heartened by the many positive comments from residents and their families and are committed to the residents in our care.”