HF Trust – St Teath Site in Bodmin has been rated “Inadequate” and placed within special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection in December.

The Site is a residential care home for those with learning disabilities and autism. Split into two homes, Rendle House and Valley View, the home can accommodate up to ten residents.

Following a recent inspection by the CQC, the site will be placed under special measures. This inspection was prompted in part by a notification of an incident in which a person using the service died, which is now subject to further investigation by the CQC.

The inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident, but the information shared with the Commission surrounding it indicated potential concerns around the management of risk.

Following the inspection, the site’s overall rating was lowered from good to inadequate, however its caring rating remains good. The service will be kept under review by CQC and re-inspected to check improvements have been made.

Debbie Ivanova, CQC’s director for people with a learning disability and autistic people, said: “The care provided at HF Trust - St Teath Site didn’t reflect the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture as it failed to promote people’s independence and choices. Risks weren’t being effectively managed to keep people safe and people weren’t being given the opportunity to live their lives as independently as possible.

“We found an out-of-step culture in the service where people’s individuality was not responded to... instead people were restricted by some institutionalised practices. Due to low staffing numbers, night staff were getting people up very early in order to provide them with personal care before day staff started their shift.

“The report makes for disappointing reading. We have told the provider what they need to do to ensure improvements are swiftly put in place.”

Those carrying out the inspection found that the low levels of staff had impacted on people’s day-to-day lives and their opportunity to develop their own routines and preferences.