One family told the BBC it was “such an effort” to encourage the CQC to “take any action at all” after a loved one died at a home in Norwich.
Karen Staniland’s mother Eileen died after an unwitnessed fall in her room at Broadland View care home in Norwich in 2020, while a staff member who was supposed to be looking after her slept on duty.
Her care plan stipulated she must be checked on hourly at night, that she was given a bed which could be lowered to prevent falls and that a sensor mat should be provided to alert staff if she tried to get up.
A local authority safeguarding report after her death found “no aspect” of her care plan had been followed.
The carer responsible had falsified records to suggest checks had been carried out and was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, for willful neglect in February 2023.
The home was rated “good” from an inspection in 2017, but a former Broadland View employee, who has asked not to be named, told the BBC the home was not providing quality care.
“Safeguarding issues weren’t being documented, and the equipment and training weren’t very good,” she said.
“There were these pressure alarm mats, but as soon as you stood on them, they would slip from underneath your feet – they were used as preventions, but were actually causing the falls.”
The former worker said she had reported concerns to the CQC on “several occasions” but there was “no follow up”.