A CARE home resident told inspectors from the health watchdog “nobody cares about me” while the relative of one person said: “I have never seen a person go downhill so fast.”

A damning report into Morton Close, East Morton, laid bare a catalogue of concerns and problems.

It said that following the second day of inspection, concerns for people’s health and safety were so serious that an action plan was requested.

The home, which was visited by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on two dates in November last year, was plunged into special measures.

Following the focused inspection, the home was rated ‘inadequate’ overall and for the inspection areas relating to safety, leadership and how caring it was.

The report said inspectors saw “multiple occasions” where people’s needs were not responded to.

“One relative told us ‘no one seems to care’. Another person described in detail the poor outcomes their relative had experienced since moving into the home," it said.

“They said ‘I have never seen a person go downhill so fast. We will all have to live with placing [them at Morton Close] forever’.”

It added: “During breakfast on the first day of inspection loud contemporary dance music was played on the radio in the dining room.

“We saw several people becoming agitated and one person covered their ears. Staff did not respond to this.”

Inspectors said they saw people wearing “dirty and inappropriate clothing” and added: “One person was feeling poorly and told us they wanted to do was lie down and rest.

“They were visibly distressed and told us ‘nobody cares about me’.”

The report also highlighted one incident where a resident was given a tablet “which staff had dropped on the floor and then wiped it on a tissue”.

The report said on multiple occasions, inspectors had to find staff to assist people who were at risk, in need of support, or visibly distressed.

On one occasion, someone had fallen and was calling out for help and on two other occasions, people had been incontinent.

The report added: “There had been a number of incidents where people had unexplained bruising.

“We saw these incidents not always been appropriately followed up. We saw multiple examples where staff failed to report accidents and incidents appropriately.

“One person told us they had only been informed their relative had an accident when they visited and saw bruising.”

The CQC said “significant and serious shortfalls” were identified.

The report did however highlight the care home was taking immediate steps to make improvements.

Inspectors said: "The provider was responsive to the inspection findings and provided assurance they would make the required improvements to improve the safety and quality of care.”

When the action plan was requested, the CQC said assurances were given by the provider that “they would take immediate action to address our concerns and strengthen their oversight of the home”.

The report said: “They also demonstrated they were working with the local authority and other agencies to make improvements.”

Morton Close is run by ADL Plc, which runs 21 care homes across the country.

Chairman Jeremy Davis said: "We take this report very seriously and we are taking steps to rectify things as well as we can."

Regarding a recent visit to the home, Mr Davis said: "Everybody seemed happy and it wasn't dirty in any way, shape or form."

He spoke of the difficulties around recruiting staff. The report raised concerns around staffing and said: "People were at risk of harm as there were not enough staff to keep them safe.”

Mr Davis said the care home industry was strongly impacted by Covid and a shortage of staff is a major issue for all care homes.

Mr Davis said: "This report comes after a long period of Covid and there has been an incredible shortage of staff. Try recruiting staff at the moment. It's not easy.

"Trying to recruit staff of the right calibre also makes it difficult.

"We have 21 care homes across the country. We have the same problems as everyone else.”

He added: “Costs are going through roof.

"It's sad as well when the NHS is under water and there is an embargo on taking on more clients.

"We'll work with anyone to improve all of our homes."

Want Bradford’s top stories delivered straight to your inbox each morning? Sign up to our newsletter to get our daily bulletin.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Have you got a story for us? Email newsdesk@telegraphandargus.co.uk or contact us here or call us on 01274 705292.