Choice Supported Living Service Downgraded After CQC Uncovers Serious Care Failings

Choice Supported Living – East in Bracknell, Berkshire, has been rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following an inspection that identified significant concerns about staffing, safeguarding and the quality of support provided to people.

The supported living service provides care for younger adults, autistic people, people with learning disabilities, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments.

CQC inspected the service in August after receiving safeguarding concerns. Inspectors found that standards had deteriorated since its previous good rating and identified breaches of five regulations covering person-centred care, safe care and treatment, safeguarding, staffing and good governance.

The service was rated inadequate for safety, responsiveness and leadership, while caring and effectiveness were rated as requiring improvement. It has also been placed in special measures, meaning CQC will closely monitor the service while improvements are made.

Inspectors found that staffing levels were insufficient to meet people’s needs safely. In one home, a lone female staff member was left supporting three men with complex risks and care requirements, including one person considered a risk to women and another who had epilepsy and required emergency medication. CQC had to contact a manager to arrange additional support.

Relatives also raised concerns about frequent staff changes and uncertainty over who would be working. Inspectors found that staffing pressures affected the ability to provide personalised support, with staff preparing the same meal for everyone rather than meeting individual preferences and requirements.

The regulator also identified failures to respect people’s privacy, dignity and personal choices. These included repeated interruptions to someone’s privacy while bathing and another person’s requests for a housemate to leave their room not being respected.

Health and medication management were additional areas of concern. One person received a sedative nine times in a month, always at 6pm, without a medical review. Inspectors also found gaps in bowel monitoring records that had not been escalated to healthcare professionals.

Staff training was insufficient for supporting people with complex health needs, including diabetes and swallowing difficulties. In another incident, emergency seizure medication was left behind when a person went out for the day.

CQC also found that risks were not consistently addressed until inspectors intervened, including an incident involving a person left alone in a kitchen with a mug of boiling water. Some safeguarding concerns had not been reported appropriately, while certain incidents were missing from the service’s records.

CQC deputy director for adult social care in Berkshire, Amy Jupp, said the inspection highlighted serious weaknesses in leadership, with risks involving staffing, medication and safeguarding not being addressed promptly.

She also noted that staff had previously raised concerns about staffing levels without seeing effective action, while relatives felt their concerns were no longer being heard.

Since the inspection, the provider has submitted an action plan outlining how it intends to address the failings and is providing regular updates on the improvements being introduced.

CQC said it would continue monitoring the service to ensure the required changes are implemented and sustained. Special measures will provide a framework for assessing progress and determining whether further regulatory action is necessary.

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