Statement on John Townsend Trust

Published: 20 November 2015 Page last updated: 12 May 2022

Deborah Westhead, Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care and Registration, said: "Due to significant concerns, the Care Quality Commission recently visited services provided by the John Townsend Trust, Victoria Road, Margate, Kent.

"As a result, on Thursday 19 November, CQC took urgent enforcement action to limit the services which can be provided at Westgate College for Deaf People and the Road Project. We will continue to work very closely with Kent County Council and health colleagues to ensure that people using the services receive the service to which they are entitled.

"This is not a decision the Commission takes lightly and these powers are only used in the most serious of circumstances. CQC does understand how concerning this may be for the people who live there, and for their families and carers. But we are aware that the local authority is working closely with partner organisation and the John Townsend Trust to ensure that when people move, it is in a planned way and is carried out as thoughtfully and sensitively as possible.

"Where providers are not meeting required standards, we have a range of enforcement powers we can use to protect the health, safety and welfare of people who use services. In this case, we removed Westgate College for Deaf People and the Road Project as a location from which accommodation for people using the service can be provided. When we take action of this nature, our decision may be appealed by the provider.

"CQC would like to emphasise that this action does not affect the educational aspects associated with the college or the operations at St Gabriel’s House – Apartments and Danes End and Westcliffe House."

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You can read all our past inspection reports for this service on the Westgate College for Deaf People and the Road Project profile page.

This is not a decision the Commission takes lightly and these powers are only used in the most serious of circumstances.

Deborah Westhead

About the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the independent regulator of health and social care in England.

We make sure health and social care services provide people with safe, effective, compassionate, high-quality care and we encourage care services to improve.

We monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety and we publish what we find to help people choose care.