Lingfield supported living service sanctioned over abuse
- Published
Some people felt they needed to stay in their rooms to protect themselves, inspectors found
A supported living service in Surrey has been placed in special measures after inspectors found people experienced physical and verbal abuse from others living with them.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Head Office, run by Mitchell's Care Homes Limited, as inadequate.
The company provides a supported living service in Lingfield to autistic people and people with a learning disability.
The CQC said it had taken "further enforcement action" to protect people.
The company provides services across 21 supported living settings where people have their own houses or rooms.
The CQC said it had carried out an unannounced "comprehensive" inspection after concerns were raised about people not being protected from abuse, as well as unsafe care and staffing levels.
Rebecca Bauers, the CQC's director for people with a learning disability and autistic people, said: "Mitchell's Care Homes Limited wasn't providing a culture for people who called Head Office home which they should be able to expect, nor were they protecting the vulnerable people in its care."
She said: "It was unacceptable that people experienced physical and verbal abuse by other people living with them.
"We saw a culture where Head Office staff were taking little action to address this, to ensure that people felt safe in their own home."
Staff under 'unacceptable pressure'
Ms Bauers said people were forced to take their own evasive action to protect themselves, including staying in their rooms when they would have preferred to sit in the common areas.
Inspectors found the company had failed to ensure good staffing levels, putting "unacceptable pressure" on staff to not take breaks.
They also reported one person had managed to leave their home and enter a neighbouring home before destroying furniture and putting others at risk.
"We saw staff inappropriately restraining people which infringes on their human rights," Ms Bauers said.
A spokeswoman for Mitchell's Care Homes Limited said: "The recent report and the follow-up Inspection by the Care Quality Commission raised some important concerns for us.
"The people in our care often have very particular, complex and sensitive requirements and it is essential that they receive the highest possible standard of care and attention.
"The CQC has identified a number of areas where they feel we have not always met those standards, and this is something we are addressing as a matter of urgent and immediate priority."
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