'Money-focused' Suffolk care home in special measures

A nursing home where inspectors found staff "visibly upset" has been rated as inadequate.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has placed Pinford End Nursing Home in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in special measures.

Inspectors said some residents were not moved for up to nine hours during the day, and some were not getting their medication.

The owners of the nursing home have been approached for a response.

The website for Pinford End Nursing Home, which was built in 1987, says the home offers a "pleasant and homely environment" for residents.

The CQC said that some staff were visibly upset when talking to inspectors about working at the home.

Staff did not get regular supervision or staff meetings, morale was low and the atmosphere was "unpleasant", the report said.

One staff member told inspectors that "leaders were more focused on money than people's care".

Downgraded to 'inadequate'

The home was rated as "requires improvement" after an inspection in January, and this latest report which followed visits by the inspectors in September has downgraded it further to "inadequate".

The CQC report highlights poor management of medicines at the home, with one resident not getting their medication because it had to be administered in a particular way and an appropriate system was not put in place.

Inspectors also found that risk assessments were not being carried out, such as staff not knowing what to do in the event of a resident choking.

The CQC report said that some of the 35 residents spent long periods of time sitting down, with no effort made to move them for up to nine hours.

Catriona Eglinton, the CQC's deputy director of operations, said: "We have reported our findings to the provider, and they know what they must address.

"We will monitor the service to ensure people are receiving safe care.

"If sufficient progress hasn't been made, we will not hesitate to take action to ensure people's safety and wellbeing."