Baylham Care Centre in Baylham, near Ipswich, was placed in special measures after being rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after an assessment from June 10 to July 23 this year.
Five breaches were identified after incidents involving distressed residents, a failure to investigate some safeguarding concerns and a “significant lack of oversight”.
In particular, safety concerns, raised by 12 whistleblowers, identified repeated incidents of violence and aggression between residents, alongside altercations between people, which had resulted in significant verbal abuse and physical harm.
Inspectors also noted that medical equipment, scissors and alcohol had been left unsecured, placing people living with dementia at risk of harm.
The report also showed that staff have been asked to do catheter and stoma bag changes without any training.
The CQC said it had received mixed feedback from relatives about care.
One relative said: “I can’t say hand on heart that [family member] is safe at Baylham.”
A staff member said: “Baylham Care Centre is a challenging place to work from induction.
“Managers are not informative if you ask for help, they assume you know everything.”
Meanwhile, concerns were also raised about kindness, empathy and compassion, with two members of staff seen ignoring a person crying loudly into their hands, while another came out of their room with soiled wet but staff did not respond to the call bell.
In addition, records showed that there had been errors with medicines, including incorrect doses of insulin given to a person.
Meanwhile, inspectors described the management, which is new, as having a “challenging, defensive culture”, with a resistance to accept evidence and feedback.
Fiona Williams, managing director, said the care home is “committed to providing the highest standards of care and support for our residents and their families” and a “robust improvement plan” is being put into place.
She added, “We are disappointed that the inspection report does not reflect the significant progress being made.
“We believe it is important for the regulator to acknowledge improvements fairly, given their responsibility to inform the public accurately and without causing undue alarm.
“We are assessing legal and other options for challenging substantial elements of the report that we believe are inaccurate, as well as the conduct of the inspection itself.”