A DOCTOR has described the standards of care as "poor" at Leigh nursing homes.

Dr Deepak Trivedi, chairman of the Leigh Primary Care Group, told health authority members that nursing homes are failing to provide simple medical equipment and he is now calling for stricter measures.

Dr Trivedi highlighted his concerns after he said on one occasion, he was unable to even find a pair of medical gloves whilst visiting a sick pensioner at a nursing home in Leigh.

He also said most homes failed to provide simple breathing apparatus.

He called for tighter inspections to ensure equipment is up to standard.

Dr Trivedi said: "The standards of care are very poor at nursing homes. If they can't provide the simple equipment, what else are they failing to do to ensure the safety of the elderly people?"

Chairman of the Wigan and Bolton Health Authority, Jean Garlick, a former residential home manager, urged Dr Trivedi to divulge his experiences.

The recent health authority meeting heard how nursing homes were difficult to discipline once registered with social services.

Mrs Garlick said: "We have heard instances where elderly people are forced to get up at 5am to suit the staff. If that was the case in my nursing home, then the staff would be told to leave.

"Nursing homes is an area which I feel strongly about."

Executive Nurse Adviser Mrs Ann Parmley said the health authority was "without teeth" when it came to trying to enforce action in nursing homes.

Mrs Parmley told the health authority members:"Once a nursing home is registered we don't have any teeth. We have to remember that these homes are profit-making organisations and we have to try a different approach. We have to be extra vigilant."