A RESIDENTIAL care home in Oldham has been told by the Care Quality Commission it "requires improvement".

In three out of five categories of assessment - safety, effectiveness and leadership - Elizabeth House (Oldham) Ltd, in Queens Road, the home was judged to need to raise its standards.

In the two remaining area of caring and responsiveness it was said to be "good". But the overall rating was "requires improvement".

Inspected on August 20, the home provides care for up to 32 people, but at the time of the CQC's visit, there were 28 people resident.

The report said: "We found some areas of the home were not adequately maintained or decorated.

"This was an area of concern at our last inspection.

"Although some improvement had been made since then, further improvements to the fabric of the building are required.

"Correct infection control practices had not always been followed."

It said medicines were managed and administered safely, but the temperature of the medicines room was frequently higher than recommended for their safe storage.

Risks associated with people's needs had been assessed, were understood and managed by staff and people had access to appropriate equipment where needed.

The report goes on: "People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible in their best interests: policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

"Staff had completed appropriate training and received regular supervision to help develop their skills and support them. Staff helped people to assess healthcare and receive ongoing healthcare support.

"People told us staff were caring and during our inspection we saw that staff treated people with warmth, kindness and respect. There was a positive culture in the home."

The home did not have a registered manager, although a new one was being recruited. At the time of the inspection the day-to-day management of the home was being carried out by the owner (provider).

"People were complimentary about the way the home was managed," the report said. "audits were in place to monitor the quality of the service.

"However, they had not identified the concerns we found around infection control. The home owner was aware that furtheri mprovements were needed to improve the maintenance of the building."