A nursing home with lifts too small to fit its residents' wheelchairs has been plunged into special measures by a care watchdog.

Sun Court Nursing Home in Sheringham has been rated as inadequate by the Care Quality Commission in its first inspection since being taken over by new owners last year.

The home in Morris Street was visited by inspectors in October last year after concerns were raised by families of some of its residents, with the report published this month.

The report raised a host of concerns around the service the 22 people living there were receiving - with the home able to care for up to 29 residents at a time.

These included:

  • Residents in wheelchairs living on the second floor despite the lifts not being large enough to comfortably fit their chairs
  • Contradictory and inaccurate details being kept in care plans and records
  • Overseas staff struggling to communicate with residents due to language barriers

The unannounced inspection was the first time the home had been assessed since being taken over by Luminous Care Group.

However, it was not the first time it has received an inadequate care rating, having previously been given the lowest CQC score in 2021 under its previous owners.

Bindhu Mathews, managing director of Luminous Care Group, said the organisation was confident improvements could be made within the six-month period before inspectors are due to reinspect the site.

He said: "We are saddened by the content of the report that we received following our inspection.

"During this, we concede that there were areas of our service which were not compliant with regulations and we are working tirelessly to rectify the issues that were raised.

"We have created an action plan which has been shared with the CQC and Norfolk County Council and we regularly keep in contact to update them on our progress."