ESSEX County Council has stopped sending residents to a troubled care home due to serious safety concerns.

The Care Quality Commission ordered Oaklands Care Home, in Forest Glade, Langdon Hills, to improve following an unannounced inspection. It was rated inadequate on one area – how well-led it is.

A report published this week revealed Essex County Council no longer sends elderly people to the home, which offers respite and specialist dementia care for up to 55 patients.

It comes after care records were found to contain contradictory information. There were also inaccuracies in the recording of drug doses.

The report also revealed an inhaler was encrusted with medicine residue and had “not been cleaned recently”.

It reads: “Some relatives told us that they felt that staff were not well trained.

“One said: ‘I don’t think staff here understand dementia, they don’t give people time to process what they’re saying, or ask for things in a different way. I think they could have a better training programme.’

“However, staff we spoke with felt their training had equipped them with the skills and knowledge to enable them to care for people using the service.”

Inspectors said patients were treated with dignity and respect.

In the report, a Care Quality Commission spokesman added: “During our inspection we observed most staff interacting well with people and showing empathy, engaging with people in a friendly, light-hearted manner, often stopping for a chat and a laugh with people.

“However we also saw some staff who were more task focussed and speaking to people in a clipped, disinterested manner, without any attempt to make more engaging, and stimulating conversation.”

A spokesperson for the home said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of residents is our number one priority. We take all feedback from the CQC very seriously and we have put in place a detailed action plan to address its concerns, including implementing enhanced systems and oversight procedures to provide the quality care Residents expect and deserve.

“The home is being fully supported by our senior management team, and we are working closely with the CQC and the relevant authorities to ensure that improvements are made across the home as soon as possible. We look forward to welcoming the CQC back to the home in the near future to show them the progress that we have been making.”

A spokesperson for Essex County Council said it was working closely with the provider and the CQC.

“We will continue to closely monitor the level of care provided.

“We have temporarily not commissioned further placements while this work takes place.”