A WIDNES care home facing closure has been put into special measures after alarming failings were discovered.

Health watchdog the Care Quality Commission has unveiled a catalogue of serious problems at Millbrow Care Home rating the overall service as inadequate.

Allegations of abuse had not been notified or acted upon and relatives’ complaints had not been investigated.

Inspectors found that 10 residents had lost weight. In six months one person’s went down 15.5 kgs and another dropped by 21 kgs.

Residents had been left for 17 hours without a drink.

Inspectors said a number of people looked unkempt with dirty finger nails or unbrushed hair.

They saw one person who required immediate help with personal hygiene left in an ‘undignified and distressing state’.

Inspectors rated the home - owned by Four Seasons Health Care - as inadequate in four of the five main areas - safety, effectiveness, responsiveness and leadership.

Inspectors said the caring category requires improvement.

Halton Council had been trying to buy the home on Millbrow before the owners Four Seasons Health Care announced it was to close.

The authority has vowed to secure a rescue package.

Council leader Cllr Rob Polhill said: “The council is talking with the owners with a view to try and save the home.

“We are doing all we can. Our main concern is the people who live there.

“We appreciate that this is a difficult time for staff, residents and families and want to reassure them all that we are working hard to resolve this to everyone’s satisfaction.”

Inspectors referred 12 residents to the adult safeguarding team, they were so concerned about their health and welfare.

In a detailed report, inspectors said: “We saw that people were left waiting for long periods without being given a morning drink, breakfast or assistance with personal hygiene.

“We discovered that there had been allegations of abuse that had not been notified to the Commission or acted upon correctly.

“We observed someone lying in bed who required immediate assistance with their personal hygiene.

“We heard this person shouting for help. No staff were seen to go and assist this person. The registered manager told us that this person was ‘often distressed’.

“A daily monitoring chart indicated that this person should be checked on every 15 minutes. The chart had been completed every 15 minutes including the time we were with the person even though no staff had entered the room.”

Relatives told inspectors they had raised concerns in the past.

Inspectors added: “We viewed the complaints file and noted that a full record of each complaint was not available.”

Rachael Junge, regional managing director of Four Seasons Health Care said: “The proposal to cease operating is based on a combination of factors.

“We have had local difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff.

“This has necessitated a high use of temporary agency staff and it has resulted in challenged to maintain the standards that we expect all of our homes to provide for our residents.

“The wellbeing of our residents is our priority.

“The home has not been financially sustainable for some time.”