ELDERLY residents had their toilet paper and treats rationed and their care home was dirty and smelt of urine, a damning report has revealed.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors said Spring Lodge in Worthing was inadequate and failed to provide care which was safe, caring or responsive to people’s needs.

The home in Madeira Avenue closed in December and its nine residents have been moved to other places.

The CQC and West Sussex County Council are now considering whether further action should be taken against the home’s manager, who has applied to be taken off the health watchdog’s register.

Inspectors carried out an unannounced check in November to see if improvements had been made after an earlier visit in 2013.

The report, published this week, found residents, most of whom had dementia, were not safe because of poor handling practices.

The home, which did not have a dedicated cleaner, was dirty and smelt of urine with dust and cobwebs in people’s rooms.

People’s dignity was not respected and there were not enough staff on duty at night to provide safe care.

Inspectors discovered people were “told off” if they didn’t “behave” and were spoken about in a derogatory way.

Residents were given no say about the times they got up, what they did during the day, when they ate and when they went to bed.

People were at risk of dehydration and malnutrition, with records showing that one resident had not had a drink for more than 14 hours.

Incidents were not reported to social services or the CQC, including bruises sustained from being hoisted in a sling of an unsuitable size, threatening behaviour involving knives and people with dementia leaving the home unnoticed.

CQC deputy chief inspector of adult social care in the south, Adrian Hughes, said: “This was not the kind of home that any of us would like our mother, or any other loved one, to live in, and it is good news it is no longer operating.”

West Sussex County Council was “disappointed” standards were not sustained.

Holly Spring, which only ran one care home, could not be contacted by The Argus.