Wainford House Residential Care Home

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 13 February 2026. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Wainford House Residential Care Home provides care for up to 28 people. There were 19 people living at the home at the time of the assessment.

We carried out site visits to the home on 17 September, 1 October and 8 October 2025, the remainder of the assessment was conducted offsite. The assessment was prompted due concerns received regarding the quality of the care and the safety of the environment.

Wainford House has been rated either inadequate or requires improvement since 2016, with repeated breaches of regulation relating to staffing, safe care and treatment and governance. Although the company has changed its legal entity there is no evidence of change of ownership, overall management or institutional change.The provider had failed to respond adequately to serious concerns raised by CQC, and where the provider had made improvements, they had failed to ensure they were embedded in practice and sustained. At this assessment we found the provider was in breach of the legal regulations relating to, safe care and treatment, safeguarding people from abuse and improper treatment, premises and equipment, person centred care, staffing and good governance. The overall rating is inadequate.

Risks to people's health, safety and well-being had not always been assessed, monitored or managed placing people at risk of avoidable harm. Care records lacked information and guidance for staff on how to keep some people safe.

The safety of the environment posed a risk to people’s health and safety. Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service placed an immeidate prohibition notice on 5 bedrooms because of serious health and safety concerns and took enforcement action during our inspection process. Areas of the home including toilets, bedrooms and items of equipment used to support people with were unclean or in a state which may cause injury.

The provider’s governance systems and processes were not used effectively to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service. There was a lack of accurate checks and audits carried out across the home to identify and mitigate risks putting people at risk of harm.

This service is being placed in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide. In instances where CQC has begun a process of regulatory action, we may publish this information on our website after any representations and/or appeals have been concluded.