Haverhill: Care home placed in special measures over safety

The Swallows care home in Haverhill has been placed in special measures

A care home has been placed in special measures after staff failed to carry out rulings from an earlier inspection.

The Swallows Residential Care Home in Haverhill, Suffolk, has been moved from "requires improvement" to "inadequate".

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said checks were prompted in relation to building security and standards of care.

The home's manager Donna Burrows said they were now in "full compliance with the regulations" since the inspection.

The Swallows is an adapted residential care home currently providing personal care to 12 people aged 65 and over.

Following its inspection in January, the CQC report said people, including those living with dementia, were "not always safe and were placed at risk of harm".

The care home was not always safe and people were placed at harm, the watchdog found

Inspectors said this was "due to the condition of the environment, poor infection control processes, medication management and lack of consideration of fire safety measures at the service".

They also found food management in the kitchen "wasn't always hygienic" and concerns had not been addressed despite an environmental health department visit.

Inspectors said the culture at the care home "didn't always respect people's privacy, confidentiality and dignity".

Fire safety checks were also not routinely completed, they found.

'Extremely disappointing'

A previous report - published in July 2021 - found the care home required improvement, and the CQC found "a breach of Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act", because "infection control processes were not adequate".

Care homes placed in special measures are kept under review by the CQC and re-inspected, to check sufficient improvements have been made.

The Swallows dropped to inadequate in its leadership and safety tests - as well as effectiveness.

Responsiveness and caring remained good, the CQC said.

Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said: "When we inspected The Swallows Residential Care Home it was extremely disappointing to see actions we had previously told the provider to make not being put into effect.

"We found that risks weren't being effectively managed to keep people safe, and in some cases where they had been identified, staff didn't have the information to reduce risks to people.

"The provider had failed to ensure people were receiving care that met their individual needs."

She said "further action" would be taken if the CQC was not "assured people are receiving the care they deserve".

A statement issued on behalf of the care home's owner said the rating was "disappointing, but in the two months since the inspection... the staff have worked very hard together as a team, assisted by the home's professional advisors, to address all the valid issues raised and swiftly restore the service to full compliance with the regulations".

"Mrs Burrows continues to receive positive feedback from the residents about their experience of living at The Swallows and she is confident that the home is performing well and providing a valuable service to the local community," it said.