Westhope Place

Updated 18 March 2024

Date of assessment 14 March to 1 May 2024 The assessment was prompted in part by notification of an incident following which a person using the service died. This incident is subject to further investigation by CQC as to whether any regulatory action should be taken. As a result, this assessment did not examine the circumstances of the incident. However, information shared with CQC about the incident indicated potential concerns about the management of risk of choking. This assessment examined those risks for other people. At the time of the assessment there was no registered manager in post and the interim manager was not available. The provider had made interim management arrangements. Westhope Place was one of several services registered as Westhope Ltd under the national brand of Accomplish. We found four breaches of the legal regulations in relation to safeguarding, safe care and treatment, person- centred care and governance. Risks to people were not adequately identified or managed. People’s health and welfare were not managed safely. People were not consistently protected from abuse and improper treatment. Staff did not identify self-injuries as potential abuse. Staff did not always support people with medicines safely. People were not supported in line with Right support, Right care, Right culture guidelines in providing care and support which is person-centred, planned, proactive and coordinated. Governance measures were not effective in identifying service shortfalls and failed to assess, monitor and mitigate risks relating to people’s health, safety and welfare. In instances where CQC have decided to take enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded. There were significant concerns around safe care and treatment, safeguarding, person-centred care and governance.

Updated 18 March 2024

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it. People told us that they could talk to staff and felt safe living in the service. While the people we spoke to expressed that they were generally happy with their care, our assessment found elements of care did not meet the expected standards. Some people used different ways of communicating including Makaton and finger spelling. We spent time observing the support and communication between people and staff in shared areas of the house and there were concerns around person centred care. We observed staff not always supporting people in a person-centred manner or communicating in their preferred methods. People were not always supported or encouraged to be involved in a variety of activities specific to their personal interests. The provider had not always ensured staff had received effective training to support people’s individual needs and had not always monitored staff skills or competence.