A KNUTSFORD nursing home has been criticised for failings in looking after its elderly residents.

In a scathing report by the Care Quality Commission on the Bucklow Manor Nursing Home, Chester Road, it said urgent action was needed after it failed to measure up on a number of key indicators including its care and welfare of its residents, supporting workers, assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision and record keeping.

At the time of the inspection in January, the home was providing nursing for 15 people and dementia care for a further 25.

In the report which was published last month, inspectors found one of its residents, who was deemed as at risk of choking, had been served a breakfast and had eaten toast whilst lying flat in bed with no assistance from staff.

The report said: "At 10.15am we observed one person who was still in bed. The room smelled badly and this person said they had been incontinent and needed washing and changing. The nurse call bell was out of reach so this person could not summon assistance.

"When asked how they managed to eat their toast lying completely flat they said they had managed by placing the plate on their stomach and lifting their head up to eat a bite of toast."

A relative of another resident had concerns not just about the lack of personal hygiene but about finding them dressed in other people's clothes.

The report said when inspectors went to this person's room they found faeces smeared over both the toilet and bathroom floor. Little or no attention was paid to individual hygiene including hair, teeth and nails.

The report found that due to a number of staff vacancies there was a high use of agency workers. It also found that a number of nurses had not completed key clinical requirements including dementia care. It further found the home did not have effective quality assurance systems in place

The report added: "A nurse told us she had started working at the home in April 2014 as a care assistant and was able to practice as a registered nurse in August, 2014. She told us she had never practised as a nurse in her own country and felt inexperienced.

"She told us that two other nurses working in the home who had arrived around the same time as her and had also had no previous experience of working as registered nurses."

Lee Cox, managing director of Springcare, the owner's of the home, said:“A recent inspection carried out by the Care Quality Commission raised some concerns about Bucklow Manor Nursing Home. Prior to and since that inspection several changes have taken place within the home, improvements have been made and we are in the process of recruiting a new management team.

"We are liaising closely with the local authority, NHS Commissioners and families to safeguard the wellbeing of everyone who lives at the home and we continue to implement the improvements required to ensure that standards return to those expected by ourselves as a provider and by regulatory bodies.”