A CARE home has been ordered to improve following a damning report.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated the service provided by Accrington’s Belvedere care home as ‘inadequate’.

Inspectors had found some of the rooms smelled strongly of urine, medicines were not always managed safely and staff were not properly trained when they visited the Wellington Street premises on November 6.

Belvedere’s registered manager Francesca Windsor said: “We are doing our best to be fully compliant with the CQC.”

The privately owned care home, run by Unlimited Care Ltd, cares for 38 people, and has been providing personal care to people aged over 65 for the last 12 years.

During the inspection, 16 people were spoken to about their experience of the care provided, including users, family members and friends, staff and the manager.

The care home users told inspectors they thought staff treated them well but their right to privacy and confidentiality was not always respected as personal care records were left unlocked in the manager’s office.

Inspectors found care plans were often illegible and were not always updated when accidents had occurred. Concerns were also raised about training with not all workers completing a safeguarding refresher.

In the report a spokesman for CQC said: “Leadership within the service was disjointed. It was unclear, when three deputy managers were on duty, who took overall responsibility in the absence of the registered manager.”

Belvedere will be inspected by the CQC again in six months and bosses have been told they need to make significant improvements or face closure.

Ms Windsor said: “We have read the report and the criticisms. We have already actioned on them and everything is in place to continue to make the improvements.”