A BURY care home has been given a formal warning about the standard of care provided for elderly residents.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) told Fulcare Limited, the owners of Alexander Care Home, in Rochdale Road, that improvements must be made to the management of medicines.

Inspectors made an unannounced visit in April to follow up on concerns raised during a previous visit.

The CQC said records about the administration of medication were “generally poor” and did not always include which medication had been given.

Some residents did not receive their medication as prescribed or following the manufacturers’ instructions and there was no information available on giving medicines prescribed “as required” or “as a variable dose”.

Inspectors also found some medicines could not be administered because they were not available in the home and stocks had not been replenished.

Ann Ford, CQC regional lead for the North West, said: “This warning sends a clear and public message that Fulcare Limited needs to address this issue or face further consequences.

“Our inspectors will return in the near future and if we find that the required progress has not been made, we won’t hesitate to use our legal powers to protect the people who use this service.”

Peter Morris, proprietor of Alexander Care Home said: “We immediately ensured that our administration of medicines complied with the CQC’s wishes and indeed have recently been inspected by Bury primary care trust, who are quite happy with our practice.

“We are confident that our residents continue to benefit from the high standards of care they have enjoyed at Alexander Care Home over the past 20 years, as evidenced by our excellent reputation in the local community.”

He said the inspectors found residents were cared for in a “caring and dignified way” and “staff had a good understanding of policies to keep them safe”.

He added: “They also said that on the quality of service overall, the results were positive.”

A Bury Council spokesman said: “The council’s quality assurance and development team has issued an action plan which includes timescales for improvement. The council continues to monitor the service and is also providing support to the care home to improve the quality of the service it provides to residents.

“We are satisfied that care arrangements for existing residents are sufficient and do not pose any threat to their safety and well-being, but it is clear that improvements should be made.”

A spokesman for NHS Bury said: “We are in liaison with patients and their families to discuss and address any concerns they may have.”