A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said: “An inspection has identified serious and significant concerns about the quality of care experienced by residents at Merse House in Kirkcudbright.
“The report of the inspection will be published on our website in due course.
“We understand this is a difficult and distressing time for residents, their families and staff at the service.
“However, our first priority is always the health and wellbeing of residents of the service.
"Because of our concerns about the safety of residents we have issued an Improvement Notice to the service. This sets out the significant improvements that must be made within a specified timeframe.
"We are in contact with and monitoring the service to follow up on the required improvements.
"If we are not satisfied that sustained improvement has been made we will not hesitate to take further action.
"Anyone with a concern about a service can contact us on 0345 600 9527."
The improvement notice can be read here.