A CARE home has been ordered to improve for the second consecutive year.

Bedford Care Home in Leigh was given a score of “requires improvement” by healthcare watchdog, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in its latest inspection.

The Battersby Street facility, which had 153 people living there at the time of the inspection, was ordered to improve in the three out of five areas it was marked on.

Care provider Advinia Healthcare Ltd took over the running of the home in February 2018 after the last CQC visit, which was published the following month.

In its latest report, its safety, effectiveness and leadership were ranked in the area of "requires improvement".

The report states: "Some aspects of the service were not always safe and there was limited assurance about safety.

"There was an increased risk that people could be harmed.

"We inspected medicines on three of the six units and found they were not being administered safely on a consistent basis.

"On one unit, we found medicines had been 'potted up' and not kept within properly labelled packaging in the trolley. Medicines should only be removed from packaging at the point of administration and not in advance.

"Staff had not received supervision and appraisal in line with the providers policy, to support them in providing effective care, ensure their competence is maintained and promote personal development.

"We found the recording of snacks on food charts required improvement.

"Despite the positive changes noted and the range of quality monitoring in place, we found action had either not been taken or had not been maintained following completion of auditing.

"For example, issues had been identified internally with medication management and completion of supplementary charts, however we identified continued issues with these during inspection."

The inspection was carried out over three days from February 12 to 14 and published on March 25.

There were complimentary aspects from the visit though and the care home was rated “good” in the areas of being caring and responsive.

The report said: "People and their relatives spoke positively about the standard of care provided.

"We were told the staff were very kind and caring and could not do enough for people.

"We observed people being treated in kind and respectful ways.

"There was a positive culture at the service and people were provided with care that was sensitive to their needs and non-discriminatory.

"People's support plans were clear and person centred in nature.

"There was information included about people's lives prior to arriving at the home, which helped staff understand them as unique individuals."

Bedford Care Home has been approached for a comment about the inspection.