Suffolk care home Pinford End House Nursing Home, near Bury St Edmunds, with ‘inadequate’ Care Quality Commission rating is to close
A nursing home is to close, it has been confirmed, and comes as a report by the regulator highlighted ‘significant failings’.
Pinford End House Nursing Home, at Hawstead, near Bury St Edmunds, has been rated ‘inadequate’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and placed in special measure to protect people.
One member of staff told the CQC: “The focus is on money and not the care of the residents.”
Suffolk County Council (SCC) has now confirmed the home’s owner has made the decision to close.
A spokesman for SCC said: “We are working closely with CQC and health colleagues to support residents living at Pinford End House Nursing Home to find new care provision, following the owner’s decision to close the home.
“The quality and safety of care for residents is always our primary concern, and we are confident that new provision will be found for all residents in the coming days.”
The closure date is set as November 15 and as of today there are seven residents remaining in the home.
“Moving arrangements are well underway for each,” the SCC spokesman said.
A CQC spokesman said: “We’re aware the provider of Pinford End House Nursing Home has made the decision to close the home and we’ll continue to work with Suffolk County Council and other bodies to make sure people are safe during this transition.
“We would encourage anyone who has concerns about a health and social care service to let us know. This can be done by using the give feedback on care form on our website or via our customer service centre on 03000 616161.”
SuffolkNews has made attempts to speak with the care home for comment, including visiting the site in person.
The CQC inspection, which included visits over five days in September, found the provider remained in breach of regulations.
The CQC report says it identified breaches in relation to safeguarding people from abuse, safe care and treatment, medicines management, safeguarding, staffing, person-centred care and governance at this inspection.
In terms of staffing, at night the CQC found that there was one nurse and three care staff to support 35 people.
Catriona Eglinton, CQC deputy director of operations, said some people spent long periods of time in sedentary positions, with gaps in records showing they hadn’t been helped to move in up to nine hours, and medicines were poorly managed - mentioning one person hadn’t received their medication.
She said: “When we inspected Pinford End House Nursing Home, we found there were significant shortfalls in service leadership and leaders had created a culture which didn’t ensure people received high-quality care.”
Staff told the CQC of low staff morale and an unpleasant atmosphere.
