Care home in Newton Abbot put into special measures
The Care Quality Commission found issues with staffing and management during an inspection of College House in December 2025
A care home in Newton Abbot has been put into special measures after being downgraded to inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
During a visit in December last year the CQC found problems with how College House was run including issues with staffing, and safety problems.
Run by Parkview Society Limited, College House accommodates up to 12 people, including those with learning disabilities.
The CQC said at the time of the inspection seven residents were living there.
Inspectors found seven breaches of regulations, including issues with person-centred care, safeguarding from abuse, unsafe environments, consent, safe care and treatment, safe staffing and overall management of the service.
The home’s ratings in the areas of safe, effective, and well-led have been downgraded by the CQC from good to inadequate, while caring and responsive have moved from good to requires improvement.
Special measures mean the CQC will closely monitor the service to ensure residents' safety while improvements are made.
A structured timeframe will be set to help guide the service in making necessary changes, with potential further action from the CQC if these improvements aren't met.
The CQC has started the process of taking further regulatory action to address the concerns, which Parkview Society Limited may appeal.
Stefan Kallee, CQC’s deputy director of adult social care for the South West, said:
“When we inspected College House, we found serious shortfalls in how the service was being managed, which undermined the efforts of staff to provide good care.
“It was clear that the service wasn’t assessing people’s needs well enough. The registered manager wasn’t aware of people’s specific learning disabilities, their mental capacity hadn’t been assessed, and staff told us they treated everyone the same. This meant people weren’t receiving care that was tailored to their specific needs and preferences.
“Leaders didn’t know enough about what was going on in the home and didn’t provide staff with the information, tools or support they needed to provide safe, person-centred care. For example, they didn’t ensure staff completed autism training, despite thehome supporting autistic people.
“We were concerned to find that record keeping, systems and planning were all insufficient and staff confirmed they had to rely on verbal knowledge rather than written guidance. One person’s care plan lacked detail about their diabetes and how staff wereto support them, increasing their risk of harm from diabetes complications.
“Leaders didn’t have a system in place to plan staffing levels and this meant there weren’t always enough staff to keep people safe. The registered manager told us that staff slept during night shifts and relied on people using their call bell to wake themup. However, one person receiving end-of-life care wasn’t able to use a call bell and was left overnight without regular checks, despite being doubly incontinent. This meant they couldn’t let staff know if they needed help or reassurance.
“We’ve told College House’s leaders exactly where they must make immediate and significant improvements, and we are monitoring the home closely to keep people safe while those changes take place.”
Inspectors identified additional issues, such as unsafe medicine management, unsafe environments without tamper-proof window restrictors on upstairs windows and radiators weren't covered to prevent burns.
The home had also not ensured legionella checks were completed which the CQC said increases the risk of harm from legionella-based contamination.
Furthermore, restricted access to activities due to staff shortages negatively impacted residents’ wellbeing.
A lack of feedback surveys and engagement with families in care decisions were also noted.
Parkview Society Limited, which runs College House, have responded to the findings saying:
"We acknowledge the findings published by the CQC following an inspection in December 2025 and the ‘Inadequate’ rating.
"While this outcome is disappointing, we fully accept the concerns that were raised and we are committed to making the necessary improvements to ensure that the residents we support receive safe, high-quality care.
"Since the inspection, we have been working closely and collaboratively with the local authority's QAIT (Quality Assurance & Improvement Team). Our focus will remain on embedding sustainable improvements, ensuring accountability, and creating a culture of continuous learning and development. The wellbeing, dignity and safety of the residents who live at College House remain our absolute priority. We are confident that the collaborative work undertaken with QAIT and our wider stakeholders will result in measurable and lasting improvements.
"We remain committed to transparency and working openly with CQC, the local authorities, professionals and families as we continue this improvement journey."