Safety concerns lead to closure of Sheffield autism and disability unit

An autism and learning disability unit has closed to new admissions, following an “inadequate” rating by CQC inspectors.

The report by the Care Quality Commission said that the Firshill Rise unit in Sheffield was not effective or safe, adding “People experienced harm because of lack of protection, they experienced abusive incidents, restraint and seclusion.  People had poor relationships with staff which were not therapeutic.”

The report stated that in January 2021, the unit had the highest use of restraint across the trust, with 30 incidents.  This reduced to nine incidents in February, but then increased to 23 in March.  It also found patients had been at the unit for long periods of time, one for 23 months, with little support to help them to return home or into the community.

Responding to the report, Mike Hunter, medical director at Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS Foundation Trust, said “We are very sorry that we have not delivered good care consistently in our unit at Firshill Rise and we will improve the care we provide there.

“We have now temporarily closed the unit to admissions to give us time to make the required changes including training for staff and thinking carefully about how we provide services in the future.

“The service users who are still in the unit have more activities and extra support to help them have a better experience in our care.”

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Posted by Karen Motley, Clinical Negligence Department, Chadwick Lawrence LLP (tonymay@chadlaw.co.uk ), medical negligence lawyers and clinical negligence solicitors in Huddersfield, Leeds, Wakefield and Halifax, West Yorkshire.

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