Care home sees rating downgraded to 'inadequate'

Willows care home in Ipswich has been rated as inadequate by healthcare inspectors

A care home has been downgraded from "good" to "inadequate" by healthcare inspectors over residents' safety.

The Willows care home on Crabbe Street, Ipswich, which is ran by Sohal Healthcare, was inspected in March by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

In a report, inspectors raised a number of concerns including managing risks and staff training.

Hazel Roberts, CQC director of operations for the East of England, said she was "concerned to find people's needs and preferences weren't being met safely".

At the time of the inspection 57 people were using the service.

Previously the care home was rated "good" but the report said it had "failed to maintain" the standard.

In one observation, inspectors saw one resident kick another while staff were not around.

Inspectors alerted staff who told them the two residents were "always fighting".

"We were not assured appropriate action was being taken when there were concerns of abuse," inspectors said in their report.

In another area of concern, a resident said they had rang the buzzer in their room at 20:15 BST on one night to call for help but the staff did not arrive until 22:00.

"When I asked them why it took so long, they said they hadn’t heard the buzzer," they told inspectors.

"I could have fallen, anything."

Bare feet on tables

Some residents also expressed concern about other people entering their bedrooms uninvited, leaving thwm feeling unsafe.

Others were not being supported with their bathing or brushing of their teeth.

In another incident during the visit inspectors saw a person with bare feet on a dining room table as meals and drinks were being served.

The report highlighted gaps in training records that "evidenced that staff were not always undertaking the learning opportunities to ensure people's needs were being met".

Some staff said they felt their concerns had not been listened to by the management team and inspectors said there was a lack of processes for staff to provide feedback.

The registered manager however said they operated an "open door" policy for staff.

'Unaware of problems'

"We found there weren’t enough staff, the home wasn’t acting to reduce risks, and people’s individual needs were frequently overlooked," said Ms Roberts.

She added leaders were "unaware of the problems in the service, despite many of them being clearly visible" to inspectors.

"We’ll continue to monitor the home very closely to ensure people are safe in the meantime and won’t hesitate to take further action if improvements are not made quickly," Ms Roberts said.

Willows care home has been approached for comment.