A West Suffolk care village has been rated 'inadequate' for the second time in a row by independent inspectors.

Ixworth Court Dementia Village, which is operated by Leaf Care Services Ltd, was rated inadequate for the first time in August, when inspectors found the service employing under 18s without "appropriate support and training".

Overall, it was found to be lacking in safety, effectiveness, care and leadership, while its responsiveness was deemed to 'require improvement'.

The latest report by the CQC (Care Quality Commission) report, published on November 18, found "there were areas of improvement" but "this was not sufficient and embedded and further work was required".

As such, the service was rated inadequate for both safety and leadership, while effectiveness, care and responsiveness required improvement.

Regarding staffing, inspectors found "found improvements at this inspection and the provider was no longer in breach of staffing regulations".

Inspectors also said they had received mixed feedback from relatives with some saying that there continued to be insufficient staff to ensure their family member received their care in a timely manner, while a number of others said there "were more staff than a few weeks ago",

Overall, officials said they "observed sufficient staffing to meet people's needs with staff visible. Some people told us, however, that staff were still not able to spend quality time with them and were rushed at times."

Regarding safety, the report found that care plans were "not always sufficiently detailed in how to effectively support people who experienced episodes of distress and to mitigate any risk".

It also highlighted: "People were not always protected from the risk of abuse and harm" as "not all safeguarding concerns had been discussed with, or referred to, the Local Authority Safeguarding Team."

When assessing leadership, inspectors said the care village remained in breach of a 'Good Governance' regulation, with the service continuing "to fail to fully understand their roles and responsibilities and make the required improvements to ensure people received consistently good and safe care."

Furthermore, "misleading information was displayed on the provider's website across both of their registered care services", with a description that the service had facilities such as an onsite supermarket, which did not exist, and "not allowing members of the public to make informed decisions".

The service remains in special measures and, should the care village not improve before another inspection within six months, the CQC says it will "begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service".

Ixworth Court Dementia Village was contacted for comment, but made no response.