A CARE home has been placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission after it breached the Health and Social Care Act 12 times during an inspection in January.

Longbridge Deverill House and Nursing Home in Church Street was rated inadequate in areas of effectiveness and leadership and requires improvement in areas of safety, care and response after being inspected on January 9 and 11.

In the report, published on March 28, it states inspectors found residents with dementia were left at risk of becoming infected or harmed in some cases due to poor practice and the state of the buildings.

Inspectors also saw staff running when they heard raised voices and poorly written care plans led to a lack of a consistent approach to supporting people with potentially challenging behaviours.

Staff carried out acts intended to control or restrain people that were not necessary and in one person’s care records, the guidance for staff was to remove the person’s walking stick when they became agitated.

Residents displayed signs of frustration such as hitting objects, overturning chairs, repeating phrases, wandering or asking questions repeatedly and they were not supported to take part in meaningful activity to help reduce frustrations.

Staffing levels were not adequate, with one relative saying how they had to go and find a member of staff to help a person in another room while another said "there are never enough staff".

In the residential home, the room used to store medicines was not clean and posed a risk of infection and the flooring was cracked in three places, which could lead to bacteria forming due to dust and dirt.

However there were some positive aspects, including how staff were kind, caring and attentive to people's needs in the residential home.

Manager Karen Mandle said: “Longbridge Deverill Nursing Home is a well established and respected care home.

“We are a small local family business with 30 years’ experience in the care industry. The report was a complete shock, but we must be proactive and move forward.

“We are working closely with CQC and Wiltshire Council Quality Assurance team and have already implemented a comprehensive action plan.

“We are proud of all the staff for the fantastic work they do in providing a safe, caring and happy environment for our residents to live in.

“We are looking forward to CQC returning shortly and are confident of a positive outcome.”