TWO staff members at a Huntingdon nursing home have been suspended from work after allegations of assault against elderly residents. Cambridgeshire Police have confirmed that there is an on-going investigation at Ringshill Nursing Home in Sallowbush Road

TWO staff members at a Huntingdon nursing home have been suspended from work after allegations of assault against elderly residents.

Cambridgeshire Police have confirmed that there is an on-going investigation at Ringshill Nursing Home in Sallowbush Road, Oxmoor, following claims by other members of staff.

The home, which has 87 beds for people aged over 65, charges about £500 a week. It is run by Four Seasons Health Care, one of the largest providers of care for elderly people in the UK.

A spokesman for Four Seasons said: "Two members of staff have been suspended pending inquiries by the adult protection team and the police, with whom were are offering our full co-operation.

"We have a new manager in place who is working extremely hard to improve standards.

"The latest inspection report acknowledges that the home is improving and we are confident of sustaining that improvement and building on it."

The police investigation follows two inspections at Ringshill, in May and November last year, raising questions about standards of care at the home, safety procedures and staff recruitment and training.

The May report said staff were poorly recruited, untrained and mostly unqualified while both reports found that patients were allowed to develop bed sores which were then left unattended.

The November report did find care had improved since May 2006, but added that one resident had grade four pressure sores of the right and left hips.

However, the inspectors also reported that the home had been subject to a number of meetings concerning the protection of vulnerable adults against abuse and added: "Ringshill has had a turbulent and unsettled period for a number of months due to these issues."

The report added that there were also problems with storage of medicines, limited communication between kitchen staff and care staff to combat patients' "unintentional weight loss", and that the relative of one woman had claimed: "My mother sits for hours alone with nothing to occupy her.