A care home that unlawfully restrained a patient and fed meat to vegetarians has been placed in special measures.

Inspectors deemed Northwood Nursing Home, in Eastbury Avenue, inadequate and unsafe, after noting that residents appeared unkempt and unclean.

The home can care for up to 35 people – 19 of those are people with physical and mental health issues and the remaining 16 are people over the age of 65. Inspectors turned up unannounced on September 23 and 30.

The report, published on December 22, said the administration of medicine was not always safe and there were several instances where members of staff failed to respect people’s privacy or human rights. Patients' liberties were also were also restricted as they were denied access to their cigarettes.

Residents' consents were often not obtained before care was delivered and not all staff understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act.

Inspectors also said some staff, whose first language was not English, did not always understand the questions they were asked and had not completed numeracy or literacy tests before starting work there.

Training for staff involves E-learning, which can be completed in workers' spare time, and face-to-face training; these were criticised for not providing the necessary skills.

The quality of food was poor and vegetarians were often given meals containing meat.

There was little engagement between staff and service users and one person was restrained and restricted from moving around the home. Activities were also limited and the carers would often play loud music at the same time as the television, and residents seemed to lack interest in either option.

Care plans lacked detail and accurate information and records were not completed in a timely way.

The care home did however, have an effective system in place for recording, investigating and responding to complaints and there were sufficient staff members to meet people's needs.

Northwood Nursing Home was contacted for a comment but has not responded.