Residents move out of Devon home after watchdog warning
Residents have been moved out of a home for people with learning disabilities in Devon after a watchdog said standards needed urgent improvement.
Staff from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) made an unannounced visit to the Veilstone home, near Bideford, in October.
Criticisms included residents and their guardians not being told what care choices were available.
Atlas Project Team Ltd, which runs the nine-place home, declined to comment.
The CQC said the home at Buckland Brewer was "failing to meet government standards covering the care and welfare of people, and respecting and involving people who use services".
Its concerns included Atlas failing to demonstrate that suitable arrangements were in place to ensure that people living there - or acting on residents' behalf - understood the care or treatment choices available to them.
Residents and relatives or other representatives were not properly involved in decisions relating to care and treatment, the commission said.
Other criticisms included a "quiet room", used for people to spend time and sleep in, as being unsuitable for such purposes.
CQC south west regional director Ian Biggs said: "We needed to ensure that people living at Veilstone were not at any immediate risk of harm, which is why we have been working closely with the Devon Safeguarding Adults team to ensure the safety of all the residents.
"Following that intervention, all the residents have now moved out of Veilstone.
"The law says that these are the standards that everyone should be able to expect. Providers have a duty to ensure they are compliant.
"This warning sends a clear and public message that Atlas Project Team Limited needs to address this issue as a matter of urgency or face serious consequences."