A care provider has apologised to residents and their families after one of its homes was rated inadequate and put into special measures.
Mountfield, in Millcroft, to the north of Norwich, was closed in 2016 but revamped to the tune of £2.7m and reopened in January 2020 after research highlighted the growing number of people with dementia locally.
But in a Care Quality Commission (CQC) report published in December after a visit in October, inspectors rated the home inadequate and put it into special measures.
They said residents had been put at risk of harm and increased risk of infection and that while systems were in place to monitor people's nutrition and fluid intake, they were not being used "effectively".
The report said staff "were not confident on what measures to take in response to a fire".
"We found toiletries and a prescribed cream unsecured, ground floor windows leading out to the car park unsecured and a gate in a garden area leading to the back of the service and a public road was not locked," the report said.
The CQC said "offensive waste" was not disposed of within provider NorseCare's infection control guidance.
"For example, we found multiple incidences where personal and protective equipment and offensive waste had been left un-bagged and left in bins around the service, including in people's bedrooms," they said.
But inspectors did note NorseCare's fast response, saying it "responded immediately".
A spokesperson for NorseCare said it held its duty of care and trust placed in it by residents, families and carers paramount.
“It is therefore unacceptable to us that when the CQC inspectors visited in October, the standards at Mountfield were not at the high levels we demand within our care homes," a spokesperson said.
“For that we have wholeheartedly apologised to our residents and their families.
“Today, we are confident that Mountfield is a safe and well-managed home. We took immediate action on the most urgent concerns raised and, over the past three months, we have addressed the majority of other issues. In addition, we have a robust action plan to complete any outstanding improvements."
But they said NorseCare was not complacent and said additional resources from across the group had been brought in, with admissions temporarily paused.
Inspectors rated the home requires improvement in 'effective', 'caring' and 'responsive' categories and inadequate in 'safe' and 'well-led' ones.
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