A CARE home is set to be closed after police launched an investigation into allegations of abuse against a resident.

The probe centres on film footage understood to have been recorded on a hidden camera in one of the rooms at Lake View Nursing Home, Withnell.

Five members of staff have been suspended as part of the probe.

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It follows two damning inspection reports by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) last year, and the owner, Embrace Group Ltd, has now opted to close the home for good.

The 28 residents have been given four weeks notice to move out, while 37 staff members will lose their jobs at the Chorley Road home.

Embrace has refused to reveal further details about the allegations, and what the film footage contains.

Debbie Westhead, the CQC’s deputy chief inspector for adult social care in the North, said there have been ‘significant concerns’ regarding standards of care at Lake View, which was ‘currently falling a long way short of what we expect services to provide’.

She was aware of the intention to close the home and added: “We are proposing to take enforcement action against the provider, but we are unable to provide further details at this time, pending any possibility of appeal.”

Last April, the CQC issued a warning notice to the home, which has space for 49 residents, after it failed to meet all six basic standards that were examined during an inspection.

The concerns included staff shortages, a strong smell of urine in the corridor and a resident who was forced to sleep with their room light on, as the switch did not work.

As reported by the Lancashire Telegraph, when inspectors returned in June, the problems had still not been addressed.

Staff at the home refused to comment yesterday, but Embrace said in a statement: “For some time we have been working hard to improve standards at the home.

“The senior management team has been working closely with the council and the CQC but we have not seen the improvements needed.

“In addition, due to an increased reliance on agency staff, we are not able to guarantee that residents will receive the standard of care they deserve beyond the short to medium term.

“For this reason we have taken the very difficult decision to close the home.”

The statement said residents will be supported to find suitable accommodation, and the home will only close once this has happened.

Staff will also be supported to find alternative employment ‘where possible’, while extra managers and clinicians will be on hand during the transition, it said.

One former resident, who asked not to be named, said: “I had a very unpleasant experience at Lake View, and the home seems to have been forgotten about by the company’s management.

“There were always lots of agency staff who weren’t fully trained, and the managers never stayed long, so there was a lack of leadership. The company will say that residents are very important to them, but all they care about is profits.”

However, a couple who visited the home yesterday to comfort staff, who they said had been ‘very caring’ towards their relative, who had lived in the home for about two years ago.

A spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary confirmed the probe related to film footage being obtained from a resident’s room and added: “We are working to establish whether this will be subject to criminal allegations.”