A CARE home in Prescot where police are investigating the death of a 90-year-old man has been rated “inadequate” for the second time in six months.

Griffin House, in Shaw Lane, received an “inadequate” rating from health and care watchdog the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after an inspection in October 2020 uncovered multiple failings in safety and leadership.

Inspectors had been called in after the death of a 90-year-old man at the care home in June 2020, which is still under investigation by Merseyside Police. No arrests have been made.

But when inspectors returned to the care home in February this year, they found that management had failed to adequately address the problems identified in October and also uncovered new problems.

According to a report published on Friday, the CQC inspectors found medicines were not always administered safely, COVID-19 guidance was not always followed and there was not always enough staff on duty.

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The inspectors report said: “Medicines that needed to be taken before, with or after food were not always administered with due regard to this. This increased the risk of medication side effects or the medication not being fully effective.

“Thickening medication prescribed to thicken people’s fluids to prevent them from choking were not managed safely. This increased the risk of a choking incident occurring.”

They also noted that some staff had not had proper background checks before starting work at Griffin House, but since the inspection a new system had been introduced to ensure checks were carried out.

Inspectors went on to highlight problems with management of the care home, saying the manager, Mark Griffin, “lacked an understanding of the health and social care regulations and knowledge of best practice guidance”.

They added that they were concerned about the “authenticity” of some of the care home’s record keeping and said management had failed to address fire safety concerns raised at the last inspection.

Management also “refused to follow government guidelines and participate in lateral flow testing for visitors to the home as they did not believe these tests were accurate”.

The continued failings at Griffin House mean the care home remains in special measures and faces the prospect of having its registration cancelled if it does not make improvements within six months.

Mr Griffin could not be reached for comment for this story. However, after the previous inspection he told the Local Democracy Reporter Service that Griffin House was working with the CQC to address the problems but was “not a bad service” and had “just had a bad day”.

He said: “The reviews on carehomes.co.uk speak more about our service than a report from four hours on the day from an inspector.”