A care home in Faversham has been plunged into special measures after a damning inspection uncovered a catalogue of serious failures.

The Care Quality Commission found that Mill House in Salters Lane kept the central heating on during a heat wave, fed laxatives to a patient with diarrhoea, had no soap in its bathrooms, and had rooms smelling of stale urine.

The government watchdog had ruled the care home was inadequate in November – when it was accused of nine breaches of the Health and Social Care Act – and told bosses that improvements were desperately needed.

But an unannounced re-inspection in July revealed that – despite a few minor improvements – the home was still found to be violating “fundamental standards of care”.

The report, published on September 2, ruled that “risks to people’s safety and well-being were not always managed effectively to make sure they were protected from harm”.

It went on: “We inspected the home during a heat wave, when outside temperatures exceeded 35 degrees.

“The central heating was still on in part of the home, people did not have access to fans and they were at risk of heat exhaustion.”

“The central heating was still on in part of the home, people did not have access to fans and they were at risk of heat exhaustion.”

One patient’s care records showed they had diarrhoea for 10 days but a medical chart showed that the staff had continued to give them laxatives on a daily basis.

The report said there was a “strong smell of stale urine” in three of the bedrooms, and a commode pan and toilet seats were found to be dirty and stained.

“The mops had very dirty mop heads which needed replacing,” it added.

“The sluice machine had not been relocated away from the laundry area to ensure that laundry could be separated from clinical waste.

“The washing machine was not properly plumbed in, and dirty water from soiled linen was draining into an open sink.”

Despite an overwhelmingly negative report and inadequate scores in four out of five sections, the care home was rated good for how caring it was and there were a number of positive points.

The report stated: “Staff were cheerful and patient in their approach and had a good rapport with people.

“The atmosphere in the home was generally calm and relaxed, and there were lots of smiles and laughter.

“People made complimentary comments about the service they received. People told us they felt safe and well looked after.

“However, our own observations and the records we looked at did not always match the positive descriptions people had given us.

“Most of the relatives who we spoke with during our visit were satisfied with the service.”

The care home offers full-time respite for 24 elderly people, many of whom have dementia.

The management at Mill House had failed to respond to a request for a comment as the paper went to print.