THE manager of a Dudley care home has vowed to 'get back to our best' after the home was placed into special measures following an 'inadequate' rating from the Care Quality Commission.

Grazebrook Homecare, based on Adshead Road in Dudley, was inspected in January and the CQC report was published last week.

The home, which was previously rated as 'good' in its last inspection in March 2016, provides shared accommodation, care and support to seven people with learning disabilities, and physical disabilities and adults aged 65 years and over.

The report found the safety and leadership of the home inadequate, while its effectiveness, care and responsive was told to improve.

Residents at the home were not safe and 'at risk of avoidable harm', with no risk assessments in place for falls, inspectors found.

There was also no care plan in place for people who have a specific medical diagnosis, and no risk assessments or evacuation plans in place for people or staff.

The leadership of the home was also slammed as inadequate, with 'widespread and significant shortfalls'.

The keeping of records was identified as a cause for concern with risk assessments and care plans described as 'incomplete' and 'inaccurate'.

Quality assurance was deemed 'ineffective', with inspectors finding that one resident's medicine record had not been reviewed in ten years.

However, staff at the home were praised by residents, with one resident quoted as telling inspectors: 'Staff are brilliant, they are dedicated, understanding and kind.'

It was also stated that residents and their families were confident if they raised a complaint it would be dealt with effectively. The report also found that residents has access to health care services when they needed and relatives praised staff as good at monitoring their relatives' health needs.

The home now has to implement improvements immediately and will be inspected in six months if changes have not been made.

Ikram Ulhaq, care manager at Grazebrook Carehome, said: "I would like to start by saying we are a small local care company looking after vulnerable adults in the community for almost 23 years.

"We have a good reputation with authorities and relatives which we have never taken for granted. Our aim is to deliver the best possible care to our clients. We are working hard to address the issues highlighted in the recent CQC report and aim to get back to our best once again."