Manchester City Council has suspended new placements at a Wythenshawe care home until improvements are made following criticisms from a watchdog and a former deputy manager.

A report by health watchdog the Care Quality Commission said safety at Freshfields Nursing Home on Southmoor Road was inadequate, with staffing levels not supporting the effective provision of care.

The report, published in January, says that although some staff supported residents well with compassion and understanding, some residents did not always receive care appropriate to their needs.

Inspectors said in the report: “We found that people’s dignity was not always considered. People were not always responded to in a timely manner and we observed people to have unmet requests for support, such as calling out, asking for drinks and requesting support. Staff did not seem to acknowledge non-verbal signs of communication for people living with dementia and we observed care to be task focused.

“We found that people’s health care needs were not appropriately assessed therefore individual risk factors had not been fully considered, placing people at risk of avoidable harm. We looked at care records and found significant gaps in reviews of people’s needs. Care planning was not person centred.”

And speaking to the Manchester Evening News, former deputy manager, Jessica Taylor, said she walked out of the home after just 14 days because of the way it was being run.

Baguley councillor and executive member for adult health and wellbeing at the City Council, Paul Andrews, said: “We are aware of concerns relating to this home and are working with colleagues from South Manchester Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to ensure improvements are delivered.

“As an additional precaution, we are suspending any new placements in Freshfields until these improvements have happened.

“We would like to reassure residents that the home is subject to close and frequent monitoring to ensure that patients are safe and concerns are addressed.”