A CARE home has been shut down after it was placed into special measures, with a criminal investigation ongoing into a number of serious incidents.

Capesthorne House was permanently closed on Friday, August 3, after it was rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission.

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The CQC carried out an urgent unannounced inspection at the eight-bed Orford care home in June due to a number of safeguarding concerns, and found that there was a 'serious risk' to residents' lives and health.

Residents were able to leave the premises unsupervised when it was unsafe for them to do so as they had access to override buttons.

Staff told inspectors that one person left the home unsupervised daily by pressing these buttons.

On one occasion a resident was founding lying down in the road outside, while another had managed to get on a bus.

The home's operator, Lifeways Inclusive Lifestyles Limited, had 'known about this but not acted quickly to mitigate the risk'.

Capesthorne House was in need of repairs, and its building risk assessment was out of date.

One resident had no blinds fitted to their window and could be observed by members of the public wearing nothing on their top half during the inspection, while another had a torn piece of material stuck across their bedroom window with Sellotape.

The care home’s design was 'not suitable' for residents due to its garden fence being adjacent to a busy road and houses.

Their 'privacy and dignity was not being upheld' as members of the public were able to observe them in distress, and on one occasion videoed such an incident.

On occasions, residents had ripped wooden fence panels out and climbed over its fence and onto the roof of its smoking shelter.

A gated area was also left open, enabling them to leave Capesthorne House without support.

Inspectors found that the home's environment was 'unkempt and did not uphold people's dignity'.

The CQC's report into the care home stated that one resident enjoyed riding their bicycle around its grounds, but a staff member had taken the bike from them and rode it as colleagues 'stood watching and laughing' - causing this person to become distressed.

On another occasion, a resident was told that they could not stroke the home's cat and hit a member of staff.

Staffing levels 'were not always meeting the needs of residents', while there was a 'higher than average' turnover of employees.

Workers told inspectors that they did not always feel safe, with two staff members having suffered fractured fingers during one incident.

Inspectors noted a higher than average number of incidents leading to hospital admissions, which the CQC said 'could indicate abuse'.

A number of employees had also not completed up to date training.

The CQC's report into Capesthorne House said: "The provider applied to the commission to de-register the home in view of the serious risks we identified during this inspection.

"At this inspection, we found an extreme level of risk impacting on the people living at the home with a likelihood of the risks continuing at that level due to the provider not mitigating risks effectively enough during this inspection.

"This meant there was a serious level of risk to a person's life, health or wellbeing."

A criminal investigation is underway in relation to a number of serious incidents at the home where police were called to the scene.

The home itself, on Capesthorne Road, is also under investigation as it failed to report these incidents to the CQC.

In total, 13 safeguarding incidents had not been reported to the authorities.

A spokesman for Lifeways Inclusive Lifestyles said: "We closed Capesthorne House following problems with staff recruitment and a change of management, alongside issues linked to the location and physical environment of the residential home.

"It was a very difficult decision, but we recognised that we were no longer able to provide the high standard of service for which we are known - as previously recognised by our good rating at this home, awarded by the CQC last November.

"We have worked very closely with the relevant authorities to identify alternative accommodation for the six residents - a number of whom will remain supported by Lifeways in high quality accommodation – and we have apologised to the individuals concerned for the upheaval this has caused."