Lindridge, Laburnum Avenue, Hove left patients in pain after they ran out of medicine – an occurrence they have blamed partly on its reliance on agency nurses.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) gave the home a ‘required improvement’ rating, which it has retained for the past three years.

Official inspectors said: “People were not always supported to receive their medicines when they needed them.”

The rehabilitation service has now been closed and was set up under a short-term contract to help cope with soaring numbers of patients arriving at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton.

Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust, who run Lindridge, said they tried to ensure as much continuity of care as possible by having regulars come in.

The NHS trust took over Lindridge in 2011 when it was known as the Downs nursing home.

The CQC said: “Records showed there was a high percentage of agency staff being used to cover shifts. One area of the home was providing a short-term rehab service for people who has been transferred from hospital. This area of the home was staffed completely with agency staff.”

The CQC report did, however, report people were happy living at Lindridge and staff received the training and support they needed to be effective in their roles.

Sussex Partnership chief nurse Diane Hull said: “I am pleased residents feel cared for and looked after by staff at Lindridge. Residents spoke positively to the CQC about being supported to remain as independent as possible and feeling treated with kindness and respect. At the same time, staff spoke about the importance of involving residents and their families in decisions about care.”