An unannounced inspection of a Chester care home found residents were at risk of harm in the event of a fire.

There had also been insufficient funds available to buy food with the manager using her own money.

The visit by a Care Quality Commission (CQC) adult social care inspector took place at the Curzon Park Residential Home run by Curzon Professional Services Ltd at 13 Curzon Park South.

The large Victorian property, which has been converted and extended, provides personal care and accommodation for up to 25 older people and people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 15 people living there.

The watchdog judged the service, which is in special measures, to be ‘inadequate’. Within the overall rating the CQC says the safety and management of the home is inadequate while its effectiveness, care and responsiveness require improvement.

The watchdog explains that at an inspection in December 2016 it identified breaches of regulations under the Health and Social Care Act.

Its report states that at the most recent inspection on May 4 ‘we found that improvements had been made in some areas but not others’ with continued breaches.

It adds: “The overall rating for this service is ‘inadequate’ and the service remains in ‘special measures’.

“The service will be kept under review and, if we have not taken immediate action to propose to cancel the provider’s registration, will be inspected again within six months.”

The CQC expects that registered providers found to have been providing inadequate care should have made significant improvements within that period.

The inspector found: “Whilst the safety and security of the premises had been improved in some areas there remained some aspects of the service that required further improvement.

“An enforcement notice had been issued by the fire service which required the registered provider to make the required improvements by June 22, 2017. At this inspection some actions remained outstanding and following the inspection visit we received information from the manager that it was unlikely that the requirements would be completed within the timescale required by the fire service.

“This placed people at on going risk of harm in the event of a fire.”

Improvements had been made with regards to infection control in some areas although not in others.

Parts of the kitchen needed cleaning and action had not been taken to address an infection control risk in the laundry room. One room identified at the last inspection had retained a ‘strong malodour’. This placed people at continued risk of infection.

The report continues: “At the last inspection we identified issues relating to the suitability of the premises. At this inspection we identified that improvements had been made in some areas but not others.

“People did not have the option of having a bath because the facilities were not adequate. This placed people at risk of a deterioration in their health.

“At the last inspection we identified that quality monitoring processes were not in place which had led to a deterioration in the service being provided.

“At this inspection the manager had introduced audit systems to monitor the quality of the service. However the registered provider did not have any systems in place to monitor the service being provided and surveys had still not been completed to ascertain the views of people using the service or their family members.

“The registered provider had failed to ensure there were sufficient funds available to buy food which had resulted in the manager having to use their own money to do this.

“Following the inspection visit the manager told us a system had since been put in place to prevent this from occurring again. This showed poor co-ordination by the registered provider and a lack of care for the people using the service.”

The inspection found that residents’ rights and liberties were being protected.

People were being supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.

The last inspection had identified issues with the safe administration and storage of medication but residents were now receiving their medication as prescribed from staff who had been trained.

Care records had been improved and were accurate, up-to-date and personalised. These included important information for staff around the support they should provide to people using the service.

Staff morale had improved since the last inspection and this was reflected in the more positive interactions with people using the service.

Options available to the CQC include proposing an immediate cancellation of the registration or a further inspection within six months to check on progress.

The home has been contacted for a response.