Cromer Highfield Residential Care Home residents moved out

Norfolk County Council is moving residents out of Highfield Residential Care Home in Cromer

Residents are being moved out of a care home placed in "special measures" by the health watchdog.

Highfield Residential Care Home in Cromer was rated "inadequate" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2017, with concerns over choking.

Norfolk County Council said "appropriate alternative care" had now been found for residents.

The owner said the council had "cancelled their contract; it does not mean they are closing the home".

The home, on St Mary's Road, was placed in special measures after being inspected by the CQC in August 2017.

Inspectors rated it inadequate again last year after an unannounced inspection in May 2018.

The watchdog said "enforcement procedures" could be triggered to stop it operating if improvements were not made.

A statement on the website says: "We are carrying out checks at Highfield Residential Care Home. We will publish a report when our check is complete."

'Next step'

Highfield's owner and manager Kanapathipillai Thavapalasundaram, who has run the home for 12 years, said social services were in the process of moving all 18 residents out of the home.

He said inspectors visited in January.

"I am still waiting for the CQC report - until that has come through I don't know what the next step is going to be," he said.

Norfolk County Council said its priority was the "safety and wellbeing of residents".

"It is very clear we will work closely with care homes to provide support with skills and leadership to achieve improvements and good performance," a spokesman said.

"But we are equally clear that we will be intolerant of those unable to achieve improvement, or sustain their performance.

"Since we were no longer confident the home could maintain a good quality service, we have worked with residents and relatives and identified appropriate alternative care."