Care home for people with autism rated inadequate

A care home that supports 18 people with autism and learning disabilities has been placed in special measures by a health watchdog.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected 8 Acres in Great Ellingham, near Attleborough, Norfolk, in June and reported insufficient staffing, inconsistent support, and a language barrier between staff and residents.

The home had previously been rated as requires improvement but has since been deemed inadequate.

A spokesperson for 8 Acres said they were "extremely disappointed" by the report, and that they questioned the validity of the CQC's findings.

The CQC said the home would be kept under close review "to make sure people [were] safe whilst improvements [were] made".

Inspectors said residents were not consistently "living in a clean, well-maintained environment" and there was a lack of night-time staff.

The report also claimed staff from overseas did not always have a good understanding of English and there was a failure by senior management to report safeguarding concerns.

However, inspectors praised staff for being "kind and caring" - and for recognising the important role they played in the lives of residents.

A spokesperson for Westward Care, which runs the home, said it was "extremely disappointed" with the outcome of the report, and that it provided "very detailed representations" following the inspection.

"Furthermore, the CQC has acknowledged that they did not assess the service using the full range of quality statements that they ought to have," they said

"Consequently, we question the validity of what is being suggested about the quality of the service.

"Nevertheless, we wish to reiterate our unwavering commitment to the people we support, their families, and other stakeholders in delivering the best outcomes for everyone at 8 Acres."

The CQC apologised for the delay in publishing its findings.

A spokesperson said: "The amount of time taken to publish this report falls far short of what people using services and the trust should be able to expect and CQC apologises for this."

The CQC said a "large-scale transformation programme" had resulted in problems, and that it was taking "urgent steps" to ensure future reports were published in a "timely manner".

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