Archived: Lakenheath Village Home

The Manager was being supported by an external consultancy but we found that medicines continued to be administered incorrectly and this could place people who use the service at risk. We were also concerned about the care for people who had diabetes and pressure area care in that their care records and information did not reflect how their needs should be being met.

It is of serious concern that the provision of care and welfare had not improved enough since our previous inspections.

The trustees of the service informed us of their decision to close the service by 20 December 2013 and to cancel their registration with us. Despite this the risks to people's health and welfare were still evident to us and it was not clear how the service would keep people safe for the remaining weeks.

Since our inspection we have been advised that all people living at the service have been moved to other services in and around the local area. We have referred our concerns to professional bodies and commissioners of care.

People who use the service told us that agency staff were often on duty and that sometimes they were not introduced to people properly before they began to support them with personal care. Some people shared that they did not like male carers providing them with their personal care, however we found that this had not been taken into account by the management of the service.

During the inspection we found that the service was failing to ensure that it was being responsive to people's needs and was not being well led. We found that improvements needed in training and support for staff had not been achieved. Relationships between management and staff were very poor and that this was having a negative effect on the quality of care.

We spoke with people who use the service and found that they were happy with some aspects of the service. One person said "I couldn't have better care" and another said "You couldn't wish for better cooks - the food's good and the cooks are so friendly". However we also found the service was failing to meet people's needs related to their nutrition and pressure area care. In addition we found the service was not assessing and managing people's risk of falling.

We also had concerns about how the service obtains people's consent to care, the administration of medication, the suitability and safety of the premises, staffing levels and on-going assessing and monitoring of the service by the management and trustees. This meant the service was failing to protect people using the service from the risks of unsafe and poor quality care.

People told us that they were happy and enjoyed the activities in the home. One person we spoke to said "I am old and I am thankful for being looked after".

The home was clean and predominantly odour free. New carpets were being fitted on the day we inspected and people were very positive about the new colour. One person said "It looks lovely. They take trouble to make it nice". Another person we spoke to told us "There's always cleaning going on - all the time!"

People told us they were happy with the staff. One person said "The staff are pretty good". Another person told us "The home caters for my needs very well. I am strictly vegetarian and the food is good"

People who used the service understood that they and their families had the opportunity to share their views on the service they received. One person told us "Generally speaking everything is systematically ok. If I was not satisfied or worried I would mention it".