An Ipswich care home has been put into special measures after inspectors heard staff had been assaulted by residents.

Elton Park in Hadleigh Road, is a residential care home run by South Coast Care Homes that provides accommodation and personal care for up to 35 people – including some living with dementia.

The care home has been placed in special measures after being rated inadequate for both safety and leadership.

Inspectors said the home's effectiveness, care and responsiveness needed to improve.

At the time of the CQC's inspection – from August 2 to August 3 – 21 people were using the home.

A key finding from the visit was insufficient safety measures, with the report stating "people were not safeguarded from avoidable harm and abuse" and that "risk assessments were either not in place or not robust enough to identify risks and provide staff with guidance in how to reduce them."

The assessment found that "people were being exposed to the risk of harm by another service user and the provider had failed to put measures in place to protect people from ongoing harm".

The report continued: "One person told us they used to feel safe, but did not currently due to witnessing an assault on staff by a person who used the service." This person also "referred to another person's behaviours which did not make them feel safe."

The report also said "there were not enough staff working in the service" and that "no staff had received training in dementia".

Another key section of the report claimed the service "was not clean and hygienic throughout".

Though staff were found to be wearing appropriate personal protective equipment and cleaning their hands, "items in bathrooms and the wet room did not demonstrate an understanding of infection control procedures".

Toiletries on a shelf in one bathroom were also a risk as "people, particularly those living with dementia, may accidentally ingest them".

This inspection was the first since the care home had been taken over by a different company.

On this, the report stated "there were widespread and significant shortfalls in service leadership", with leaders and the culture they created not assuring "the delivery of high-quality care."

In response to the report, a spokesman for Elton Park Care Home said: "We recognise what the report has highlighted and accept the findings.

"We are committed to addressing all concerns raised and have already made positive improvements.

"We have a robust service improvement plan that we are working through with the support of Suffolk County Council and reporting weekly to CQC."