Assault death care home placed in special measures
Jeff Overs/BBCA care home has been put in special measures following the death of a woman in her 90s after she was allegedly assaulted by a fellow resident.
Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors found numerous failings at the Windmill Care Home in Rollesby, Norfolk, and said people living there were not always being kept safe.
The probe was triggered following an incident on April 13, which resulted in a woman dying at the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston six days later. Norfolk Police said a man in his 60s was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder following an assault but has since been sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
The home said it is taking "significant steps" to improve its service.
Qays Najm/BBCInspectors visited the home in April and twice in May and the CQC, which monitors the quality of care being provided at homes, has rated it inadequate.
It found "serious concerns" with safeguarding, with incidents going unreported and when they were, action was not taken to protect people from harm.
This included residents showing "sexually disinhibited behaviours" towards other people and other challenging behaviours that were not acted upon, leaving "people at risk of avoidable harm", the report said.
Other issues included several residents losing weight but no referrals made to a GP or dietician.
Failure to treat pressure sores also led to one person developing an open wound.
Risk assessments for staff with previous criminal convictions were not "sufficiently robust", inspectors said.
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The report does not delve into details of the alleged April 13 attack specifically but references are frequently made about a "serious incident".
Staff told the CQC the home's management failed to provide specialist support after the incident.
One member of staff said the director, who was present frequently, had not checked in with staff individually to ask how they were feeling and no formal debriefs had taken place.
Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of adult social care in the east of England, said: "We found that people weren't receiving the standard of care they deserved.
"People weren't always kept safe because staff didn't identify or act on risks to their health, and there was no effective system to catch these problems before they caused harm.
"Leaders didn't pick up on these problems themselves.
"When they carried out their own checks, they missed the serious issues we found.
"Staff also didn't always get the training they needed to support people with dementia and behaviours that challenge."
Qays Najm/BBCThe care home, which has been running since 1987, describes itself as a family-run facility.
A spokesperson for the home said it has already taken "significant steps" to make the necessary improvements.
Changes so far include appointing a new manager and engaging a specialist consultant to advice on best practice.
"These changes... will ensure that we meet the high standards which we all agree are so essential to a caring facility such as ours," the spokesperson added.
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