Handford House Care Home in Ipswich put into special measures to protect residents after Care Quality Commission demoted it from good to inadequate

An Ipswich care home for people with dementia or disabilities has been placed into special measures to protect those living there.

Handford House Care Home, in Cumberland Street, was rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after three visits in July, having been demoted from good.

The inspection was prompted in part by whistleblowers and health professionals contacting the CQC with concerns about end-of-life care, staffing levels, hygiene practices and the overall safety and quality of people’s care in the home.

Major issues found by inspectors included carers not involving family in treatment, residents being served food from containers that weren’t being cleaned regularly and medication not always being managed safely.

Also highlighted was a lack of social activities, meaning some residents would just sit in their rooms with the curtains closed and the lights off.

However, a ‘resident of the day’ system was praised, allowing people to give feedback to carers, as was the fact bedrooms were personalised with items that reflected their individuality, including photos and memorabilia.

Hazel Roberts, deputy director of operations for the East of England at the CQC, said the body was concerned the 49 people at the home ‘weren’t always getting safe, person-centred and compassionate care’.

Not only did leaders fail to act on problems quickly to protect people, she said, there were also not enough staff with the correct training to meet people’s needs.

As a result, it has been placed into special measures and kept under review to ensure residents are kept safe.

Ms Roberts said: “There weren’t enough staff to care for people properly, and people living at the home and their family told us they’d waited up to half an hour for staff to answer call bells on multiple occasions.”

These delays placed people at risk of harm, particularly those needing urgent assistance. Some relatives said they’d had to step in to carry out their family member’s personal care because of this and one person had stopped asking staff for help with showers entirely, impacting their dignity.

“People living in the home shared mixed feelings about staff. While some told us some staff were kind, others said they were disrespectful or didn’t speak to them. We saw staff didn’t always acknowledge people they were caring for and were often focused on getting tasks done instead of listening to people’s individual needs.”

Ms Roberts said inspectors found the home, and particularly bathrooms, weren’t always kept clean, with one resident raising concerns over soiled continence pads left on the floor.

In addition, there were two bacterial infection break-outs, one Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and another of Strep, during the inspection.

Outside health professionals were helping out at the home to control the infections, Ms Roberts said.

Leaders did not always ensure the home had a safe environment and relatives raised several safeguarding concerns, the report continued.

These included residents being able to enter family members’ bedrooms and relatives not being informed when a resident fell.

Ms Roberts added: “Following visits by outside organisations, leaders had begun making improvements in many areas, but these weren’t fully implemented yet.

“We’ve placed the service in special measures and will monitor it closely, including through further inspections, to make sure these improvements are made quickly and people are kept safe.

“We’ve also proposed taking further regulatory action to protect people, which the service has the right to appeal.”

The CQC rated safeguarding and leadership at Handford House as inadequate. Efficacy, care and responsiveness of the service required improvements.

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