Owners of a care home in Suffolk have been issued an official warning, ordering them to make changes to the way medicines administered to the facility’s 28 residents are stored and logged.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) told the private care providers who run Magdalen House in Hadleigh they must make improvements or face further action.

When the commission’s inspectors visited the Magdalen Road premises unannounced on June 18, they found that the service offered in the home was “failing to protect people against the risks associated with poor medicines management”.

According to the CQC’s assessment criteria, people who use care services should have their medicines at the times they need them, and in a safe way. Wherever possible, information about the medicine being prescribed should be made available to them, or those acting on their behalf.

The care home’s operations manager Mike Donegan told the Star steps had already been taken to rectify the situation, and a further inspection had since been carried out.

He said: “The CQC was happy with the way the drugs are being administered. Their complaint was more about the safekeeping of the drugs and how they are housed.

“They deemed that the documentation regarding medication was not up to scratch and the paperwork was lacking.

“We have now appointed a new manager and the medication room itself had to be cleared out and restored. A pharmacist has been coming in to help and has provided training about medication to care home staff.”

Magdalen House, which opened last August, has 53 beds and offers 24-hour care for the elderly, dementia care, respite and day care.

Failure to comply with CQC recommendations can result in restrictions being imposed on the services a provider can offer, or in the most serious cases, services can be suspended or cancelled.

The commission can also issue financial penalty notices and cautions, or prosecute a provider for failing to meet national standards.