concerns have been raised over standards at a nursing home in Tavistock by the Government's care watchdog.

Unannounced visits to Chollacott House were taken by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission in February — the third time the home had been visited in a matter of weeks — after concerns were raised about the care being provided to elderly residents.

The company running Chollacott has been given until the end of this month to explain how it will deal with the problems identified by the CQC. These include major concerns in how the home respects and involves people using its services, and in its staffing.

The CQC inspectors spoke to families of people who use, or who have used, the services. Although some spoke highly of the care workers, others were concerned at the number and availability of staff.

The report said: 'The family of a person told us they were very unhappy with the care, saying they found their relative in a wet bed at 10.50am, and knew their preference would be to get up around 8am.

'Two others said they were not happy with the standard of personal care delivered and they knew it to be below the standard the person using the services would expect.'

The inspectors found that staff took some time to respond to call bells — sometimes as long as 25 minutes. One comment was: 'There might be enough staff, but they're not in the right places'.

The report judgement said: 'People are treated with respect and their dignity is promoted by care workers at Chollacott House. However, people's wishes are not always sought or recorded and there is little opportunity for them to be involved in decision making or influence the care they receive.

'Overall we found that improvements are needed for this essential standard.'

Chollacott House is part of the Stonehaven Care group, which has several care homes in Devon and Cornwall.

At present, Chollacott is being run by an acting manager, who has been in post since December.

Stephen Stone, managing director of Stonehaven, said: 'We are always ready to make adjustments to be 100% within regulations.

'We are working harmoniously with the CQC. We have responded to the CQC in full — this is on-going and follows their normal processes.'