A care home for elderly residents has been told it needs to improve after inspectors found it is not always safe. 

Cherry Tree Nursing Home in Saunderton was visited by the Care Quality Commission in February this year – with inspectors deeming it to be “requiring improvement” in a report published last week.

Records at the Bledlow Road home, which has 37 elderly residents, were not always “up to date, accurate or accessible” and risk assessments did not always reflect hazards people face.

Inspectors criticised care plans for being “bulky” and medicines records were not always completed.

They said: “It was difficult to access information quickly. We found examples of contradictory instructions in some of the files.

“For example in one person's care plan we read they had stage one thickener in their drinks. Thickeners are sometime used to increase the thickness of liquids to reduce the risk of the person choking.

“We read in other notes they required stage two thickener. The deputy manager confirmed they used stage two thickener, this meant the care plan had not been updated.”

The care home also did not have a registered manager in place at the time of the inspection, with a new chief at the helm of the centre just weeks before the visit.

Staff at the home were praised by residents for being caring and supportive.

The report said: “We observed there were sufficient numbers of trained and experienced staff to enable people to receive care when they needed it.

"People told us they felt safe living in the home and support was available to them when needed.”