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An independent care facility that treats young people with mental health problems has closed after a damning inspection.

Meadow Lodge in Chudleigh, Newton Abbot, had been inspected four times in 2018, all of which sparked concerns with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

One visit in September last year was prompted by concerns from an anonymous whistleblower, which were not disclosed in the latest report.

But after an inspection in February this year the CQC rated the service as 'inadequate' and placed it into special measures.

(Image: Google)

During the visit inspectors spoke to some of the young people using the service who said although they felt safe, they were concerned that there were not enough staff on duty and those who were there were "stressed and abrupt" when speaking to them.

The report went on to say there had been incidents when staff had fallen asleep while on duty and that there was a high turnover of managers - with four different senior managers in place in the six months prior to the inspection.

Following the February inspection, Huntercombe (Granby One) Limited - who run the service - took the decision to close Meadow Lodge.

Dr Paul Lelliott, CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector for Hospitals (and lead for mental health) said: “CQC has worked closely with NHS England along with other stakeholders.

"Meadow Lodge was subject to enhanced monitoring from these groups to ensure young people using services were safe since concerns were first raised last year.

"Our latest inspection of Meadow Lodge identified issues that were a matter of some concern and that although some improvements had been made the service was not managed in a way that ensured safe care was delivered.

“The Huntercombe Group has made the decision to remove Meadow Lodge from their portfolio of services.”

In a press release from the CQC, the following issues were raised with the facility: "The service had not been able to provide a stable, positive culture to enable staff to deliver safe care.

"Frequent changes in management had caused confusion amongst the staff and they were unclear who was providing support to them.

"There was a lack of robust arrangements to oversee the service. Staff were not always making the right safeguarding referrals to the relevant authorities.

"Some incidents were not categorised as safeguarding when they should have been. The service did not always raise concerns with the right organisations in cases of poor practice.

(Image: Google)

"On seven occasions over a six-week period, agency nurses without the relevant knowledge or experience of mental health or child and adolescent mental health were left in charge of shifts.

"Staff did not feel listened to and said that decisions were made without their involvement or consultation.

"Nursing staff said they did not have the opportunity to contribute to discussions about the strategy for their service as they were not involved in clinical governance or multidisciplinary team meetings."

A spokesman for The Huntercombe Group said: “The Huntercombe Group announced that it intended to close Meadow Lodge, a small hospital in Chudleigh, Newton Abbot, which provided treatment and support for young people aged 12 to 18 with mental health problems, in March 2019.

"This followed an NHS England review to re-organise capacity of Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in the South region, which determined that Meadow Lodge will not be required."

Valerie Michie, Chief Executive of The Huntercombe Group said: “Unfortunately, despite numerous testimonials from young people and their families about the quality of care provided by our team, there has not been sufficient demand to keep the service open.”