Care home in special measures over abuse concerns

Link House in Withern provides care to eight adults with learning disabilities and autism

A care home in Lincolnshire has been placed into special measures after it was rated as "inadequate".

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said Link House in Withern, which provides care for people with learning disabilities, had "not done enough to protect people from abuse" and breached a number of regulations.

The watchdog found "significant shortfalls" and safeguarding concerns, including residents being "subject to unnecessary, and disproportionate restrictive practice".

Boulevard Care Ltd, which runs the service, said it had addressed the shortfalls and was working to "ensure that improvements are sustained and that the care we provide is of the highest quality".

At the time of the CQC inspection in June, eight adults were living at the facility, which is the maximum capacity.

Inspectors said they found six breaches of regulation in relation to safe care and treatment.

There were also significant shortfalls in the care home's "governance and management oversight".

'Not safe from avoidable harm'

The CQC said it found staff did not "always raise concerns when incidents of abuse occurred" and residents were "at risk of inconsistent and unsafe physical intervention".

It described an occasion when a resident had inappropriate "physical intervention applied by a staff member".

Other concerns by the CQC included medicines being "not safely managed" and people not being kept safe from "avoidable harm" because of a lack of understanding by staff.

In its report, the watchdog said: "Staff were involved in numerous incidents of concern and abuse; however, these were not raised externally by contacting the local authority safeguarding team.

"The registered manager did not demonstrate a good knowledge of how to report incidents of a safeguarding nature appropriately to keep people safe."

Safety 'top priority'

Despite the serious concerns, inspectors were told by residents and their families they "felt Link House was safe".

"However, we found people had not always been protected from abuse and not enough action had been taken to mitigate the risk of ongoing harm," the CQC said.

"We raised our concerns with the local authority’s safeguarding team at the time of assessment."

In a statement, Boulevard Care Ltd said it acknowledged CQC's findings and was "fully committed to addressing the concerns raised".

"We are implementing more robust oversight mechanisms to ensure that documentation is consistently monitored, and any discrepancies are addressed immediately," a spokesperson said.

"The safety, well-being, and satisfaction of the people who use our service remains our top priority.

"We would like to reassure everyone that high standards and a quality service are being maintained."

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