Hatfield Peverel care home told to improve again over abuse risk

The report said relatives considered there to be enough staff at the care home, but were concerned about high turnover

Family members said they were not confident their relatives were safe at an Essex care home, a new Care Quality Commission (CQC) report has revealed.

Willowmead Care Home, in Hatfield Peverel near Chelmsford, has been rated as requires improvement for the second time in two years.

One resident had been hit by other people in the home on more than one occasion, the report said.

However, the home was praised for letting people personalise their rooms.

Rob Assall, the CQC's director of operations in the east of England, said: "We had some real concerns about how leaders at the service were safeguarding people at the service from the risk of abuse.

"They didn't have good enough systems in place to protect people from the risk of either potential abuse, or restrictive practices."

Willowmead Care Home was approached for comment

The CQC carried out an unannounced inspection due to concerns received about how the service was managing risk and its ability to safeguard people.

One relative with a loved one at the care home told inspectors: "I could not categorically be confident they are safe, I worry about some of the care from the carers."

The home provides personal care for up to 60 people across two houses.

The last inspection took place in August 2022, when it was also rated as requires improvement.

Since then, there were seven incidents where people received unsafe care and support which would have been put them at risk, the report said.

Safeguarding concerns were raised with the local authority and the CQC for each incident, but inspectors said action taken to "robustly investigate the issues raised were not completed for two out of seven incidents".

The report said relatives considered there to be enough staff at the home, but were concerned about the high turnover and use of agency personnel.

The care home was approached for comment.