Two care homes in Suffolk have been rated "inadequate" by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) over concerns for the safety of residents.
Highfield House Care Home in Halesworth and Priory Paddocks Nursing Home in Darsham have been placed in special measures following recent inspections.
Highfield House Care Home
Castlemeadow Care, who operate Highfield House, have said the health and wellbeing of their residents is their "absolute priority" and the feedback from the CQC is being taken seriously.
The CQC found there weren't enough staff to meet people's needs, meaning residents had to wait for personal care and support, as staff were not available to respond in a timely manner.
Recruitment and retention for the care home has been "incredibly difficult", with fluctuating levels of permanent staff, whose hard work was acknowledged in the report, and a reliance on agency staff to maintain staffing levels.
However, the home is now starting to see an improvement and have recruited more permanent staff.
The report also noted that medicines were not managed safely across the home and risks to people's health, safety and welfare were not managed effectively.
Inspectors at the home said residents were "mostly protected" from the risks of spread of infection, including from COVID-19.
A spokesperson for Castlemeadow Care said they were disappointed with the outcome of the inspection but that they: "Took immediate action on the concerns raised and, since the inspection, we have addressed the majority of other issues. In addition, we have a robust action and improvement plan."
Priory Paddocks Nursing Home
The report found that staff at Priory Paddocks hadn't had training or care staff meetings since the start of the pandemic.
They also had issues with recruiting new staff, leading to a decision to not admit any new people into the service until the staffing levels had increased.
Incidents of abuse had not always been reported to the local authority, who were responsible for investigating.
The report said: "We were not assured there were effective systems to keep people safe from harm."
Inspectors were told that some taps, baths and showers were not working, meaning hot water was transported in bowls and buckets.
Priory Paddocks Nursing Home has been contacted for a comment.
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