ELDERLY residents at a Wantage care home were not safe and sometimes left in an "undignified way" a surprise inspection discovered.

Inspectors from health watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited Wantage Nursing Home and found seven breaches of Health and Social Care Act Regulations.

In their report, inspectors rated safety "inadequate" and told the home it required improvement in all other areas judged.

Sanctuary Care, which runs the home in Garston Lane, has now been issued with a warning and ordered to tell the CQC what action it is going to take.

The home, which has space for up to 50 residents, regularly hosts colourful activities including exotic animal workshops, pancake tossing and a concert from school children.

Inspectors visited the facility on February 17 and 18, at which time there were 39 elderly people living there.

In their report published on April 20, inspectors wrote: "People were not safe. The service did not deploy staff effectively to meet people's care needs.

"Call bells were not always responded to in a timely manner. People did not receive their medicines safely and medicines were not always secured."

The CQC noted that the home sought people's opinions through a yearly satisfaction survey and a "quality assurance" questionnaire.

Sanctuary's director of care operations Stephen Rees said the company was "deeply disappointed" in the report and strived to deliver the "highest standard of care".

He said: "We are working tirelessly to establish sustained improvements at the home and have already made significant progress against our comprehensive action plan.

"I would like to assure everyone that we remain committed to delivering care that is centred on our residents and founded on kindness, security and respect."