An understaffed, unsafe and foul smelling care home remains in special measures following another ‘inadequate’ rating by the government health watchdog.

On a surprise visit to Ashmeadows, inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found the home to have ‘very poor’ staffing levels.

The home was rated ‘inadequate’ overall and for its safety, management and effectiveness.

It was rated ‘requires improvement’ for its responsiveness and caring attitude towards residents.

During their visit in September, CQC inspectors reported staff working ‘extremely long hours... with few, if any, rest days’.

One carer had worked 120 hours during 10 consecutive shifts, inspectors found, with the home manager and cleaner covering care roles.

The report said: “Staffing levels in the home were very poor and did not meet the needs of the people living at Ashmeadows...

“Only two staff were deployed at a time, day and night, and this was not sufficient to meet people’s needs.”

And despite residents saying they felt safe at Ashmeadows, the CQC noted numerous safety concerns with the Cleckheaton home.

The report said: “The suitability checks for new staff were not thoroughly carried out and some staff were not adequately trained or supported to carry out their role safely.

“Not all staff had sufficient knowledge of safeguarding and we had not been notified of significant events.”

Ashmeadows Care Home, Moorbottom, Cleckheaton.

The CQC also found several hygiene issues at the Cleckheaton home, including ‘strong offensive odours’ emanating from sanitary waste bins and bathrooms.

Inspectors also found that one resident, who needed assistance in the shower, had gone without a shower for seven days.

They noted improvements since the previous visit and saw that staff showed a caring approach to residents and respected their dignity.

The report also noted that people enjoyed their meals and food was well presented and appetising to residents.

But it also found that residents’ weight loss was not being adequately monitored.

The report also found that residents were not given meaningful activities to do.

Ashmeadows, which was rated ‘inadequate’ following an earlier inspection in December 2015, remains in special measures.

If the home fails to improve it could be closed down by the CQC.

The report concluded: “This inspection found that although some improvements had been initially made, there was not enough improvement to take the provider out of special measures.”

The Examiner contacted Ashmeadows owners Stephen Oldale and Susan Leigh to comment on the CQC’s findings in the report.

They failed to respond.