Chudleigh House
We were not able to visit the home ourselves because it is a supported living environment - essentially a persons private home. Therefore, we raised the issue of supported living homes not being regulated in the same way as other homes nationally. We shared this information to the Council who investigated and took action to ensure that care improved for the people who lived there.
However, when we presented these issues to the Care Quality Commission they told us that they were not able to visit supported living accommodation because it is set up as a private residence rather than a care home.
As a result of our work and that of colleagues in other areas, Katherine Rake CEO Healthwatch England wrote to the Department of Health,
“We are calling on the Secretary of State to shut regulatory loopholes which mean vulnerable people have no obvious mechanism of redress and that poor quality of care can go un-inspected and unchallenged.”
On Wednesday 18th February, the Guardian ran a feature on the concerns raised by Healthwatch. The article discusses how some vulnerable people, including those with disabilities and mental health problems, are living in poor conditions and receiving poor care across the country.
