A CARE home in Southbourne has been put in special measures following a damning report by the healthcare watchdog.

Southwood Care Home was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) over five days in January and February and found that they could not tell whether its residents had been receiving prescribed medicines nor the correct amount of food and fluids.

Published last week, the report rates the care home, in which every resident has some degree of dementia, as ‘inadequate’ - the lowest rating possible.

Three of the five assessed categories - safety, effectiveness and leadership - were found to be ‘inadequate’ with the other two - caring and responsiveness - rated as ‘requires improvement’.

The inspection was partly prompted following an incident in which a resident sustained a serious injury.

A number of safety “shortfalls”, including the condition of the home, medicine management and fire safety precautions, were identified during the inspection.

They also found that the plug for a communal bath was attached with a “dirty” piece of string.

Breaches of legislation were also identified including people’s nutrition and hydration needs not being met and not having enough staff on duty.

Southwood Care Home manager Alan Juganaikloo said:“We are committed to resolving the issues identified, and are working closely with the local authority and CQC to create clear plans on how to move forward.

“A new leadership team has recently been appointed at the care home, who are already delivering improvements, and we are making significant investments in regards to care provided, training and resources.

“We are working hard to ensure we provide the best possible care moving forward.”

The care home is run by Bournemouth-based Hadland Care Group which also operates nurseries and Stour Road care home in Christchurch.