A CARE home has been lambasted by inspectors after they found that "people were not being treated with dignity and respect".

A care home has been branded "inconsistent" and "ineffective" after a Care Quality Commission report revealed a "culture of ineffective responses to people's basic needs and dignity".

Shannon Court Care Centre in Radcliffe Road has been a requires improvement rating in its latests CQC inspection, carried out in May. In the report published last week inspectors listed problems they found at the home: "People's privacy and dignity was not always respected.

"Some people were not presented well, their hair being unkempt, and clothes stained with food and some relatives felt their loved ones could have been turned out in a better way. Some people had dirty fingernails and others had greasy, unbrushed hair and two people had no shoes or slippers on. Staff were unsure why this was.

"There were no toiletries in some people's rooms. One visitor told us their relative had no toothbrush or toothpaste and they had to ask for it. They felt their relative was not receiving regular oral hygiene support. Some medicines had been stored at too high a temperature, which could render them ineffective."

The home provides long and short term care for up to 78 people over three floors and specialises in dementia care. However, the inspectors criticised the home's approach to the specialism: "The building was difficult for people living with dementia to orientate around and did not have a consistent approach to dementia care in terms of being 'dementia friendly'."

The service's safety, effectiveness, responsiveness and level of care were all given requires improvement status, but the report did also accept "there were some kind and caring interactions between staff and people who used the service".

Inspectors said: "People who used the service and their relatives, that we spoke with, were happy with the care and support offered by staff."

The care home's leadership was marked inadequate — the same result as the last inspection. Inspectors said: "There were widespread and significant shortfalls in service leadership. Leaders and the culture they created did not assure the delivery of high-quality care."

Shannon Court Care Centre has been approached for a response.