Wainford House Residential Care Home

Date of inspection: 7 October 2026 to 27 October 2026. The service is a care home providing care to up to 28 people. There were 13 people living at the home at the time of this inspection. This inspection was completed to identify if improvements had been made following a previous inspection in September and October 2025.

At our previous inspections in 2025, Wainford House was rated Inadequate and placed in ‘special measures’. At this inspection we found improvements had been made to the day-to-day care people received and the service has been rated Requires Improvement. This means the service is no longer in ‘special measures’. However, further improvement was needed to ensure people consistently received safe care in a well-maintained environment and that governance systems provided effective oversight. The provider remained in breach of Regulations 12 (safe care and treatment), 15 (premises and equipment) and 17 (good governance).

The provider had systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service; however, these were not always effective. Audits and checks had not identified several of the concerns we found, and actions were not always clearly tracked to completion or reviewed to ensure improvements had been sustained. While the provider responded to concerns raised during the assessment, further work was needed to ensure risks and shortfalls were identified proactively, and improvements were embedded and sustained.

However, further improvements were needed. Risks to people were not always effectively assessed or managed, and we identified environmental hazards which had not been recognised through the provider’s own audit and governance systems. Care records were not always accurate or consistent, medicines were not always managed safely, and infection prevention and control practices required improvement. The environment was not consistently safe, comfortable or well maintained.

People did not always have sufficient opportunities to take part in meaningful activities based on their interests, abilities and preferences. Information was not always demonstrated to be accessible to people, and people’s wishes for future and end-of-life care were not consistently recorded. Although staffing levels were sufficient during our visits, recruitment and supervision records did not always demonstrate effective oversight due to gaps in records, including names of the agency staff working.

The provider had made some improvements to staffing arrangements, communication, management support and oversight of people’s care. Staff described improved morale and a more positive culture. People and relatives were generally positive about the service. We observed staff supporting people in a calm and unhurried way, respecting their choices and promoting their independence. Staff were responsive to changes in people’s needs and worked well with healthcare professionals to support people’s health and wellbeing.

Wainford House Residential Care Home provides care for up to 28 people. There were 19 people living at the home at the time of the assessment.

We carried out site visits to the home on 17 September, 1 October and 8 October 2025, the remainder of the assessment was conducted offsite. The assessment was prompted due concerns received regarding the quality of the care and the safety of the environment.

Wainford House has been rated either inadequate or requires improvement since 2016, with repeated breaches of regulation relating to staffing, safe care and treatment and governance. Although the company has changed its legal entity there is no evidence of change of ownership, overall management or institutional change.The provider had failed to respond adequately to serious concerns raised by CQC, and where the provider had made improvements, they had failed to ensure they were embedded in practice and sustained. At this assessment we found the provider was in breach of the legal regulations relating to, safe care and treatment, safeguarding people from abuse and improper treatment, premises and equipment, person centred care, staffing and good governance. The overall rating is inadequate.

Risks to people's health, safety and well-being had not always been assessed, monitored or managed placing people at risk of avoidable harm. Care records lacked information and guidance for staff on how to keep some people safe.

The safety of the environment posed a risk to people’s health and safety. Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service placed an immeidate prohibition notice on 5 bedrooms because of serious health and safety concerns and took enforcement action during our inspection process. Areas of the home including toilets, bedrooms and items of equipment used to support people with were unclean or in a state which may cause injury.

The provider’s governance systems and processes were not used effectively to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service. There was a lack of accurate checks and audits carried out across the home to identify and mitigate risks putting people at risk of harm.

This service is being placed in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide. In instances where CQC has begun a process of regulatory action, we may publish this information on our website after any representations and/or appeals have been concluded.