A NEWPORT care home inspection found some residents were left without social interaction for long periods, staff didn’t always administer medication safely and confidential records were left on view.

Staff at St Catherine’s Nursing Home on Fields Park Road in Allt-yr-Yn “failed to show sufficient care, competence and skill in the management of the home”, inspectors found after an inspection in July.

The report, from the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales, was published at the end of last month and identified several areas of concern at the home which looks after 30 people aged over 65.

Care home staff say they have now made the necessary changes and that the welfare of residents is always their highest priority.

Some people had “long periods” without mental stimulation other than the television, the report said, because conversations with care staff were often limited to the times they needed help with personal care.

Confidential documents were left lying on top of a cabinet in the sitting room during the inspection and some residents who needed help with eating and drinking were not given the assistance they needed, inspectors found.

One resident was given out-of-date eye drops while another who had been constipated for nine days had not been referred to a doctor.

On several occasions medication was given but not recorded and inspectors observed one chart being filled in days after medication was administered.

In another incident, a nurse couldn’t check the strength and dosage of a prescription medication because the bottle label was illegible.

Inspectors saw one service user become “increasingly agitated” because she kept trying to get up to walk but was told by staff to sit back down. It was half an hour before staff reassured her, with inspectors finding that she would have avoided becoming so unsettled if staff had been supportive earlier.

The report concluded: “The impact for people using the service was that their individual health needs were not being met which could lead to a deterioration in their condition and unnecessary pain, discomfort and distress.”

Lindsay Whittle, Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales East, whose regional seat covers Newport said: “I am pleased that people at St Catherine’s are being cared for in a safe and comfortable environment but the inspection report did highlight deficiencies that needed to be addressed, such as ensuring nurses followed the national guidelines on the safe administration of medicines.

“Homes must ensure here is social stimulation so people can have a good quality of life in their later years.”