A SEASIDE care home has been judged to 'require improvement' for the third time in a row by health and social care inspectors.

Holly Bank Care Home at Arnside was subjected to an unannounced inspection on February 5 and 6.

And in a report published this month, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found the Promenade-based home to require improvement in how safe, caring and well-led it was.

The home was last inspected in December 2016 and was rated as requiring improvement. The latest visit was taken to check to see if the recommendations had been acted upon.

"Although we noted some improvements we found staffing levels and deployment of staffing was not always effective to ensure the safe care of people who lived at the home," the report said.

Recruitment procedures were found to not be 'robust', paperwork was not always accurate and up-to-date and residents told inspectors that relationships with staff were sometimes 'limited.' This was due to staff not having time to respond to the needs of residents and communication barriers.

"All staff told us they did not think staffing levels always met the needs of people who lived at the home," the report said.

The registered manager confirmed the home did not have a full team of staff and was no longer able to use agency staff.

A visiting health professional also told inspectors that staff 'really cared' about residents but that relationships were limited because of the workloads they faced.

Inspectors found positives within the service the care home provided for its 23 residents, finding it to be 'good' in terms of how effective and responsive it was.

"Relatives we spoke with commended the ways in which their family member's health care needs had been addressed," the report said.

Care plans were described as 'detailed' and there was a variety of activities on offer for residents to engage with.

"In addition, local schools had visited people who lived at the home and entertained them," inspectors wrote. "One person had commented on the positive effect this had had upon their well-being."

Inspectors found that there was an emphasis on promoting independence, hygiene standards were praised by people at the home, as were living standards.

A spokesperson for Holly Bank said: "We are disappointed with the findings of the latest CQC report. We have worked closely with CQC and are confident we are now compliant."