Clubworthy House Downgraded to Inadequate by CQC

The Care Quality Commission has downgraded Clubworthy House in Cornwall from outstanding to inadequate after an inspection in October, placing the residential care home into special measures.

Clubworthy House, run by Nos Nom, supports autistic people and people with a learning disability. Two people were living at the home at the time of the inspection. CQC visited in response to concerns about people’s safety and the outcomes of their care.

Ratings Downgraded Across the Board

Inspectors found that care had deteriorated since the last inspection. The home was found to be in breach of four regulations relating to safeguarding, staffing, person centred care and good management.

CQC has downgraded its rating for caring from outstanding to inadequate. Effective and well led have both fallen from good to inadequate. Responsive has dropped from outstanding to requires improvement and safe has dropped from good to requires improvement.

The service has now been placed in special measures. This means the home will be closely monitored while improvements are made. Special measures set out a clear timeframe for change and outline the action CQC will take if improvements do not happen.

CQC has also begun the process of taking regulatory action to address the concerns raised. Nos Nom has the right to appeal.

Inspectors Report a Closed Culture

Stefan Kallee, CQC deputy director of operations in Devon, said:

“When we inspected Clubworthy House, we found leaders had allowed a closed culture to develop where people weren’t treated with dignity and respect, and staff felt unable to raise concerns about poor practice. Although this was a small home, every single person using care services deserves to be treated safely and with respect.

“We heard multiple serious allegations that one of the leaders had screamed in people’s faces and used swear words aggressively towards them. Staff told us they’d witnessed these incidents but didn’t feel able to challenge the leader’s approach. Despite having appropriate policies, the home failed to report or independently investigate these allegations of abuse.

“This meant people weren’t protected from harm and couldn’t be confident their concerns would be taken seriously. One person told us they felt scared and unhappy and had expressed wanting more independence and to leave the home, but there was no evidence they’d been supported to explore this.

“People had very little control over their daily lives. Staff told us activities and meals were planned in advance with limited flexibility for individual choice.

“We expect health and social care services to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the safety, choices, dignity and independence most people take for granted. It was unacceptable that leaders were allowing a culture to exist where people weren’t being given these basic rights.

“CQC is monitoring the home closely to keep people safe while improvements are made and is taking further regulatory action.”

Failures Identified by Inspectors

Inspectors found:

• Leaders didn’t ensure people’s emotional needs were always recognised or responded to appropriately, which on at least two occasions resulted in someone physically harming themselves.
• Staff witnessed poor responses to people’s distress but didn’t feel able to raise concerns, with one staff member describing feeling “completely broken” by their time working there.
• Leaders didn’t ensure care plans had sufficient detail to guide staff in delivering person centred care or responding to people’s distress.

The full inspection report can be seen here.

📷Google