A Lincoln care home for people with learning disabilities and autism has been placed in special measures by a health watchdog, following allegations of abuse.
An investigation by Care Quality Commission (CQC) at the Phoenix in Lincoln discovered that residents “retreated to their bedrooms as they were scared”.
The facility, which is run by Linkage Community Trust, when subjected to a CQC inspection, was found to be inadequate due to a number of anomalies ranging from areas of the property being “visibly dirty” through to risks that were not always identified, and medicine records that did not always contain the information for safe practices .
Debbie Ivanova, CQC’s director for people with learning disabilities and autistic people, said that the standard of care had “deteriorated significantly” since the last inspection at The Phoenix.
She stressed: “People’s safety and wellbeing needs weren’t always being met, and risks weren’t effectively managed.
“It was concerning that people at the service didn’t always feel safe. There were times when people experienced distress and incident records showed that they had retreated to their bedrooms as they were scared.
“Two people at the service had complex needs, one person’s needs were medical, and the other needed support when they became distressed.
“With only one member of staff available during the night, there was a risk that they wouldn’t able to meet the needs of each person which placed them at risk of harm.”
