A DISABLED person who was unable to feed themselves was abandoned by care home staff and found slumped with their head under a dining room table.

The resident, who was at high risk of malnutrition, was clinging onto a table cloth when he was found by health inspectors.

Staff at Homecrest Care Centre in Wallasey had been advised to ensure the resident was fully supported at meal times as they were unable to eat and drink independently and were very frail.

Despite this, they were discovered alone – in front of an uneaten bowl of porridge.

Inspectors say staff had also inaccurately filled out the resident’s ‘misleading’ food and drink chart.

Homecrest, which cares for people who suffer from dementia, has been slammed as unsafe and was placed into special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in July.

One resident hadn’t had a bath or shower for 19 days.

Inspectors found bedrooms that smelt ‘extremely offensive’ and said it was ‘difficult to comprehend people lived in these conditions’.

Communal areas were also ‘malodorous and unpleasant’.

The home’s boiler frequently tripped which meant that at times people did not have access to hot water to wash in. When the water was hot, it wasn’t sufficient enough to control the risk of bacteria.

Medicines were stored at the wrong temperature, which in some cases meant they became ineffective or unsafe to use.

In some instances, residents went without their medication altogether.

The report said staff did not always protect people from harm and that two residents’ challenging behaviours were not always supported appropriately.

It added: “At times this resulted in staff and the person sustaining physical harm due to the use of unauthorised restraint techniques.”

Staffing levels at the home – which provides accommodation for seven people – “failed to take account of people’s psychological and emotional needs.”

It is not the first time Homecrest Nursing Home has been rated ‘inadequate’. In January of this year, the provider was found to be in breach of a number of regulations of the Health and Social Care Act.

The home has now been placed into special measures, with another inspection due to take place in six months time.

The report states: “The service will be kept under review and if needed could be escalated to urgent enforcement action.

“Where necessary, another inspection will be conducted within a further six months, and if there is not enough improvement we will move to close the service.”

According to Homecrest’s website it offers “excellent care in homely conditions” and that residents’ “dignity, privacy, opininons and need guide everything [they] do”

The centre has been approached for a response.