A POOLE care home for people with learning disabilities has been put into special measures after being rated as ‘inadequate’ by health inspectors.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors visiting West View Short Term Break Service said people were not kept safe due to ‘serious shortfalls in the safe management of medicines’, shortfalls in record-keeping, staff did not always follow care plans and the home.

The facility, in West View Road, which is a short stay respite care home for 15 people with learning disabilities, failed to meet five legal requirements at an unannounced inspection in June.

Under ‘special measures’, if it does not improve before a follow-up inspection in the next six months, the health watchdog can cancel the home's registration.

Inspectors said they were informed about ‘multiple medicines errors at the home’ by the 111 service and there was one occasion a person did not receive their medicines because nobody suitably trained was on duty.

Deborah Ivanova, deputy chief inspector for Adult Social Care in London and the South, said: “People were not kept safe at the home. This was because the management, storage and administration of medicines were not always safe.

“There were shortfalls in the assessment of people’s care and support needs and preferences.

“The care and support was not appropriate and did not always meet the needs of people or reflect their preferences.”

Inspectors noted there was a stable staff group who knew people well and supported them over many years. The report noted they were aware of people’s preferences and respected their privacy and dignity.

However they found the home was not well led following changes and uncertainty in the management.

Sam Leath, Community Integrated Care's Regional Director for Southern England, said: “Providing high-quality and reliable services to the people we support is our number one priority. We take the recent CQC inspection report for West View Road very seriously and are committed to resolving all issues identified within it at the earliest possible opportunity.

"We have developed a robust action plan to ensure that this service meets the standards that both we and CQC expect, and have introduced experienced management to the home to oversee this effort. We would like to apologise for these failings and assure the public of our commitment to putting things right.”