A £15 million care home which opened last year has been placed in special measures to “protect” residents.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found six breaches of regulations at Whitstable House, located off the Thanet Way.

These included residents, who suffer from dementia and physical disabilities, facing significant delays in receiving basic care. One had to wait until after 11am to be seen despite being left in the same incontinence pad throughout the night.

Staff were unable to explain these delays when asked and were found to be poorly managing patients' medicine.

One resident with Parkinson’s disease told inspectors their medication was regularly late depending on which staff were working. This made them shakier and increased their risk of falls.

The care watchdog says there were also numerous examples where injuries were not properly reported or investigated at the Boorman Way site.

This included one case where staff failed to document a resident suffering significant bruising during blood pressure monitoring or take steps to prevent it from happening again.

Other issues included the service relying heavily on temporary staff and there being no effective system for residents to give feedback about their care.

Inspectors found breaches of regulations relating to how the service was being managed, staffing, safe care, people’s dignity and safeguarding.

It has led to the CQC rating the care home as 'inadequate' overall following the inspection in November.

It was given the same rating for effectiveness, care and how it was led, while 'requires improvement' scores were applied to safety and responsiveness.

The CQC says inspection means the care home has been placed into special measures “to protect people” and will be closely monitored to ensure people are safe while improvements are made.

Neil Cox, the watchdog’s deputy director in the south, says issues were widespread throughout the residency.

“When we inspected Whitstable House, we found a service where poor leadership had created an environment where people didn’t feel safe and weren’t receiving care when they needed it,” he said.

"While some staff were trying their best, they lacked the training, processes and support from leaders to care for people properly.

“Leaders hadn’t created an environment that was designed with people with dementia in mind, with no appropriate signage to help people find their way around.”

Mr Cox says inspectors saw one person with a history of aggressive behaviour going into other residents’ rooms - but staff did not know where they were to check on them.

“There was nothing in place to stop this from happening again,” he added.

“We’ve told leaders at Whitstable House where immediate improvements must be made, and we’re monitoring them closely to keep people safe while this happens.

"We won’t hesitate to take further action if needed.”

The facility’s owner, Graham Care, has been contacted for comment.

Ernie Graham, who has run the company alongside Dr Karen Graham since 1996, opened the £14.8 million site in February last year in a bid to tackle a supposed shortage of care home places in the Canterbury district.

It features 101 bedrooms, with fees starting from £1,695 a week – with a second occupant adding £1,095 to the cost.

It also takes in those receiving help from NHS or other social care providers.

Each suite comes with a dining room, a lounge, a sleeping area and a kitchenette compacted into one room with a bathroom attached.

The owners told KentOnline last year up to 120 staff would be on the books on both a full-time and part-time basis.