Care home drops from 'outstanding' to 'inadequate'

The home for adults with autism is in Station Road, Irchester

A care home for people with autism has been rated "inadequate" having previously been ranked as "outstanding".

The Alderwood LLA home in Irchester, near Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, has been put into special measures and served with two warning notices by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

One relative told CQC inspectors they were not informed about a "significant incident" involving their loved one, and others reported that the home was often short-staffed.

The CQC said the home "must urgently make rapid and widespread improvements".

The home on Station Road, which supports autistic people with learning disabilities, had six residents at the time of the inspection.

The CQC said it spent almost two months assessing the service as there were "concerns about the provider".

The commission acknowledged that a new manager was in place and had "started making positive changes", but there had been a "significant decline in people's safety".

The inspectors found that agency staff were often used to fill gaps on the rota, but it was not clear if they were fully trained.

'Distressed residents'

A member of staff was injured in an incident that happened during the assessment, but it was not reported to managers or recorded.

A safeguarding incident involving one of the residents was not "escalated through the management team".

Some relatives reported that staff shortages often resulted in activities such as swimming being cancelled, and residents were said to be distressed when they were unable to leave the building as there was no-one to take them.

Alderwood LLA, based in Wellingborough, runs several care homes, including the one in Irchester

Craig Howarth, the CQC's deputy director of operations in Northamptonshire, said: "We were disappointed to find a decline in leadership at Alderwood was behind the significant decline in people's safety that we saw.

"Our team acted quickly to suspend the ratings immediately after the inspection to ensure people knew CQC weren't assured that their old ratings were an accurate reflection of the care being provided there any longer."

Alderwood LLA has been contacted for a response.