A CARE home has been rapped by a watchdog after failing to meet more than half the essential standards that were examined during a recent inspection.

Highgrove House in Chorley fell short on four out of six measures that were reviewed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), including concerns about care planning, medication, staff training and management.

The inspectors were particularly concerned about one resident who had a poor appetite whose weight had dropped considerably. They found documents which suggested that no action had been taken to support the person's changing needs for 19 days.

Unity Homes, which runs Highgrove House, said it only purchased the home in September, and it has been working hard to address several issues that were present before the purchase The CQC added that residents at the Highfield Road North home were at risk of medication being dispensed unsafely, while it was also unclear who was in charge of the day-to-day management, as the registered manager was on sick leave at the time of the inspection in April.

Jagjit Sandher, operations director of Unity Homes, said: “As a care group with over 20 years of experience we are dedicated to providing a high standard of care for all our service users and we are committed to our continuing programme of improvements at Highgrove House.”