'Unsafe and undignified' Wymondham care home rated inadequate

A care home has been put into special measures after inspectors downgraded it from a rating of requires improvement to inadequate amid safety concerns.

Windmill House in Wymondham, Norfolk, a residential care home for up to 59 elderly people, including those with dementia, is run by Runwood Homes.

In a statement the firm said it "regrets" the home fell below the standards of the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

It has six months to improve.

Inspectors highlighted an unclean environment that was "unsafe and undignified" for residents.

In November, a coroner warned of a risk of future deaths at the home after a woman died weeks after the wrong person's details were put into her care plan.

Windmill House was classified as requires improvement the same month, but a further inspection in May saw it receive a lower rating due to a lack of improvements.

As well as its overall rating dropping, its ratings for how safe and well-led it is have also fallen - from requires improvement to inadequate.

The CQC said the inspection did not rate how caring and responsive the service was, with these categories each remaining as requires improvement. The effectiveness of the service was also not gauged and therefore remained with a rating of good.

The home was placed into special measures to focus the provider's attention on making rapid and widespread improvements, the CQC said.

Gill Hodgson-Reilly, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said inspectors were "disappointed" to find many of the same issues at the home.

"Leaders had failed to act, and people were still being cared for in an unsafe and undignified environment by staff who didn't always know how to meet their needs," she said.

"The home was visibly unclean, and inspectors repeatedly found people left with soiled bedding.

"We also saw people hadn't always been supported to clean their teeth and fingernails, all of which raises people's risk of infection, and doesn't allow them to live in a dignified way that most people are able to take for granted.

"It was also concerning that people told us staff weren't always kind to them."

Runwood Homes said: "We regret that Windmill House fell below the standards that both Runwood Homes and the Care Quality Commission expect.

"Since the CQC inspection, we have made progress in implementing an agreed action plan - this is to make the necessary improvements in both the safe and well-led categories.

"We will continue to work closely with the CQC to ensure that the improvements continue to be made and sustained."

The CQC said if no improvements were found it could instigate the start of the process of preventing the provider from operating the service.

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