Cornwall care home 'inadequate' following resident death

A care home for people with learning disabilities and autism has been rated inadequate by the care regulator following the death of a resident.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said the HF Trust's centre at St Teath, Cornwall, was now in special measures following an inspection in 2022.

It did not examine the circumstances of the death, which is subject to a separate investigation.

The HF Trust (HFT) said it had since brought an action plan into place.

The CQC found that risks were not being effectively managed to keep people safe and low staffing was having a negative impact on residents' quality of life.

It said it carried out the inspection in December after information about the death of a resident indicated "potential concerns about the management of risk".

The site consists of two separate houses, Rendle House and Valley View, which each can accommodate up to five people.

The site's overall rating - ratings for services; for safe, effective responsive and being well-led - have all dropped from good to inadequate.

Caring remains rated as good.

The CQC said it would be kept under review and re-inspected to check improvements had been made.

It did not say when the death occurred, but it was reported an autistic woman choked to death at the home in 2022.

Debbie Ivanova, of the CQC, said: "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."

She said an "out-of-step culture" was found where people were "restricted by some institutionalised practices", with some "just not acceptable".

HFT chief executive Kirsty Matthews said they "deeply regret that our service has not met the high-quality standards we set for ourselves".

She added: "We recognise the need for urgent action to address the shortfalls in service provision and we have an action plan in place to respond to the areas identified as swiftly and effectively as possible."

Follow BBC News South West on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].