Staff at a Cumbrian nursing home over-sedated vulnerable residents, gave out wrong doses of drugs and allowed some medications to run out.

Riverside Court has in Maryport been given a zero-star poor rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Inspectors said the elderly had been put at risk by Poor Medical Care, nutritional standards and safety procedures.

In one case a doctor ordered the use of sedatives to be reduced but the dosage was in fact tripled.

In another, a sedative should have been increased at night. Instead it was cut and the higher dose was doled out during the day.

The resident’s records contained entries such as ‘sleepy this morning’ and ‘very lethargic today’.

There was no evidence to suggest the dosages had been altered intentionally.

A stock take led to the discovery that some medicines were missing and there was an excess of others.

Inspectors said this meant they had not been administered properly.

Drugs were also allowed to run out – including angina medication and painkillers.

On occasions swabs should have been taken from wounds to check for infection but weren’t because staff said they didn’t have the right paperwork.

And a catheter bag fitted to someone with a kidney infection was left lying on the floor. Inspectors had to make a member of staff put it on a stand.

Among the other failures in duty of care were incomplete care plans and delayed tests for people on blood thinning drugs.

The CQC noted that residents had been losing weight, a significant amount for some, but the situation was not being monitored.

Elsewhere in the report it was revealed that staff had not received nutrition and dementia training.

Inspectors found the quality of the Salmoor Way premises off Irish Street was lacking too.

Stained bathroom tiles were falling off the walls and one of the baths had been out of use since 2008.Toilet seats and handrails were not screwed in properly, gaps in bedroom windows had been stuffed with paper and call bells were missing.

The home has been given until the end of March to meet all of the 17 statutory requirements it breached.

Or the CQC will take further enforcement action.

Riverside charges up to £585 a week and is owned by Four Seasons Healthcare.The firm has 350 homes across the UK and has recently wiped out £800m of its £1.6bn debt by giving creditors a stake in the business.

A Riverside spokesman said: “We recognise that the home has not reached the high standards demanded in a number of areas.

"We do note that the home was praised by residents and relatives during the inspection for its caring staff.

"A comprehensive plan is in place and under the leadership of a new manager and with support from the senior management team we expect these issues to be addressed.”

“We are working closely with the Care Quality Commission and social services and are confident that the improvements being made will be acknowledged.”