CQC statement on Mendip House

Published: 8 February 2018 Page last updated: 3 November 2022

The Care Quality Commission has welcomed the publication of the Safeguarding Adult Review of Mendip House by Somerset Safeguarding Adults Board.

Andrea Sutcliffe, Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, said: "I am disappointed that the National Autistic Society (NAS), which has a proud history of championing the rights of autistic people, allowed this bullying culture to prevail.

"We share the Board’s concerns over the outdated design of services like Mendip House: these days we would be unlikely to register a new service like this, and we are monitoring those services that already exist ever more closely.

"I am sorry that we did not do more when concerns were first raised with us instead of accepting assurances from the council and the NAS that those concerns had been dealt with."

Note: When CQC inspected in May 2016, Mendip House was rated Inadequate. CQC proposed to cancel its registration, but the NAS decided to close the service of its own accord.

Read more about CQC’s response to the Safeguarding Adult Review of Mendip House.

I am disappointed that the National Autistic Society, which has a proud history of championing the rights of autistic people, allowed this bullying culture to prevail.

Andrea Sutcliffe, Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care

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.