Frustration as The Swallows Residential Home, in Haverhill, is still waiting for Care Quality Commission reinspection report
A Haverhill care home is still waiting for a new Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection report, 18 months after receiving an inadequate rating and being placed in special measures.
This week Tom Cooper, The Swallows Residential Home consultant, branded the authorities ‘incompetent and callous’, as the home waits for a draft report from a follow-up inspection on May 23.
The Swallows, in Helions Bumpstead Road, was rated inadequate and placed in special measures by the CQC after the independent regulator of health and social care services inspected it in January 2023.
The home remains in special measures due to an embargo placed on it due to the inadequate rating.
And while the CQC did eventually revisit the setting for reinspection in May – albeit well outside its own maximum 12-month timeframe – no draft report of the follow-up inspection has materialised.
Mr Cooper, a former CQC inspector and now owner of The Care Standards Consultancy, who represents the owner of the home, said: “Unfortunately, two months on we still have not received even the draft inspection report and Suffolk County Council (SCC) has refused to lift its embargo on new placements, claiming the council has to ratify its new policy first – which it has been saying for more than three months. Pathetic.”
In May, the home said its future was at risk as resident numbers had fallen 50 per cent due to the embargo on it.
“Another resident died last week leaving only seven remaining – 44 per cent occupancy,” said Mr Cooper. “Donna (the home’s registered manager/proprietor) has also just had to pay CQC its outrageous £3,000 annual fee for the privilege of being ostensibly regulated by it.
“It seems the involved authorities are both incompetent and callous. I have pointed out to CQC and SCC that they are together perpetuating an unlawful restraint of trade against The Swallows, but they are unmoved. In the meantime, the business has to soldier on with fixed costs and ever-dwindling income.”
Mrs Burrows sent a formal complaint to the CQC on May 24, but has had no response.
A CQC spokesperson said: “We've informed The Swallows that the draft report for their inspection, which finished at the start of July, will be with them shortly.
“We will also be responding to their complaint around the report drafting process.”
A spokesperson for Suffolk County Council said: “Suffolk County Council is in the process of exploring an update to its current suspension policy for those care providers deemed inadequate by the CQC.
“This is not a simple wording change, but a process which involves extensive safeguarding discussions and a detailed assessment of the very real risks associated with placing elderly or vulnerable people with care providers which have been rated inadequate by the CQC.
“While we appreciate the current rating is causing financial frustration for The Swallows, our policies exist to protect people and ensure their safety and quality of care. It is not something we intend to rush.”
