SAFETY at a care home has been rated 'inadequate' after it continued to breach regulations.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) paid an unannounced visit to Steepleton Manor Care Home in Winterbourne Steepleton and found that residents were not protected from avoidable harm and there were not enough staff, residents did not receive the support they needed to eat and drink and were sometimes not treated respectfully.

But managers of the care home, Altogether Care, have apologised to residents and their families and say they have put in place an action plan to address issued raised.

The report in to inspectors' findings says: "We inspected the service in January 2014 and had concerns about the quality of record keeping, there was a breach of legal requirements. We asked the provider to take action to ensure that the records were stored securely and protected people from unsafe or inappropriate care.

"We asked the provider to take action about this and they sent us an action plan detailing that they would make improvements by the end of March 2014.

"(At the latest inspection in November 2014) we found that these concerns had not been adequately addressed.

"This meant there was a continued breach of regulation.

"People were not protected from avoidable harm because risk assessments were not followed adequately. People sometimes waited a long time before staff were able to attend to their needs.

"This had been raised by people with the staff in the months prior to our inspection but people told us that this had not improved."

There were 24 residents living on site at the time of the inspection last November.

Evidence compiled by inspectors included a person who should be monitored was left unsupported, records about a person with a health issue were not clear, a person waiting 20 minutes to be assisted to the toilet and other cases of residents waiting a long time for care to arrive.

One relative told inspectors: "A few more staff wouldn't go amiss...sometimes you don't see a soul."

Brian Westlake, chairman of Altogether Care, said this is the first time in the care home's history under Altogether Care that it has failed inspection.

He said an action plan had been put in place after the inspection but before publication of the report because there was a sense 'all was not well.'

This plan will conclude later this month when a new nurse manager comes onboard.

"The home now does not reflect how it was in November," said Mr Westlake.

"We were obviously extremely worried and upset by it all but we are not shying away from responsibility, it happened on my watch and I take full responsibility for it.

"All of our staff are aware of our shortcomings and we are speaking to our residents and their relatives because we want them to hear it from the horse's mouth and we continue to do our best as we have always done.

"Our primary aim is to provide the very best care for our people and that aim hasn't changes one iota."

The care home was rated as 'inadequate' in safety and effectiveness and rated as requiring improvement in being well-led, caring and responsive.

However, the report adds that there were examples of 'person-centred responsive care' and people 'spoke positively about the caring nature of the staff and the approachability of the registered manager. People had effective support with their health care and spoke highly of the skills of the nursing staff in ensuring treatment regimes were followed.'