A care home for dementia patients has been criticised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for failing to maintain accurate care plan records.

Ashley House, in Folkestone, was found to be in breach of the Health and Social Care Act, following an inspection by the health watchdog.

The inspection, which took place in May, revealed the oversight could place people “at risk of receiving inappropriate care and treatment.”

It comes after inspectors last year discovered medicines were incorrectly stored, prompting the inspection in May.

Overall the Julian Road care home was rated “requires improvement”, scoring “good” in three categories – safety, effectiveness and levels of care.

The breach forced inspectors to rate two categories, responsiveness and leadership, as “requires improvement”.

The report says: “Care plans had been written in a person-centred way and documented people’s likes and dislikes along with information about their care needs.

“However, information in care plans, although reviewed, did not consistently contain current information and guidance, which could place people at risk of receiving inappropriate care and treatment.

“For example, one person’s care plan stated that they should be weighed weekly but for the previous six months they had been weighed monthly.

“The failure to maintain accurate, complete and contemporaneous records is a breach of Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act.”

Despite the setbacks, inspectors noted some improvements.

The previous inspection revealed some staff had not undergone adequate training to fulfil their care duties effectively. However, that issue has since been corrected.

The report explains: “Staff took people’s observations when they felt they were unwell and shared the information with health care professionals to help them make prompt decisions about the treatment people needed.

“Staff told us they felt supported by the management team and were able to discuss any concerns they had with them.

“Staff received one-to-one supervisions with the registered manager, to discuss their practice and annual appraisals were planned to take place.”

On request of the CQC, the care home manager is filing a detailed report outlining how care plans will improve.