Kettering home for autistic people in special measures

Inspectors said the care home needed to improve or it would take enforcement action

A care home for autistic people with learning disabilities has been placed in special measures after inspectors found serious failings.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated Alderwood Living and Learning with Autism (LLA) Cransley in Kettering, Northamptonshire, "inadequate".

Its report said the six residents "were not protected from abuse or improper treatment".

Alderwood LLA said it now had an "improvement plan in place".

The CQC visited the home between 16 and 18 October last year "prompted in part due to concerns received about management, safeguarding and staffing".

Inspectors found issues over safeguarding, and using "blanket restrictive practices" where individual rights were not taken into consideration.

The CQC's report said the care provider "did not learn lessons when things had gone wrong".

Other issues found by inspectors included:

• Chemicals hazardous to people's health were not stored securely in the kitchen

• A person had a key lock on their bedroom door but there was no key and no-one had considered the risk of the person being locked in their room

• People were not provided with hand wash or towels in their bathrooms

• Staff had given a person paracetamol in excess of the recommended safe frequency of every four hours

• The provider did not always ensure there were sufficient numbers of suitable staff

• Some staff were working extended periods of time without a break

The CQC said it would keep the service under review and it could take action to close the care home.

If it remains open it would be re-inspected within six months to check for significant improvements, it said.

The home had previously been rated as "good" in October 2022.

Alderwood LLA said in a statement: "We are deeply disappointed by the shortcomings highlighted in this report and recognise that the recent standards of support delivered have fallen behind the high expectations that those we support, and their families rightly expect and deserve.

"We take all feedback from the CQC seriously and have a comprehensive improvement plan in place."