- SERVICE PROVIDER
Devon Partnership NHS Trust
This is an organisation that runs the health and social care services we inspect
We served a warning notice on Devon Partnership NHS Trust on 5 June 2025 as the quality of health care provided needs significant improvements in Forensic inpatient or secure ward services at Langdon Hospital.
Assessment report published 21 November 2025
Contents
Ratings - Wards for people with learning disabilities or autism
Our view of the service
The Additional Support Unit (ASU) was run by Devon Partnership NHS Trust, and was located on the outskirts of Exeter in the grounds of Whipton Hospital. The ASU was a specialist inpatient assessment and treatment service for up to 5 people aged 18 years and over with learning disabilities and mental health problems whose needs could not be met within mainstream services, despite reasonable adjustments.
On 14 November 2024 we undertook an unannounced, responsive inspection of the ASU to check whether the improvements that we told the trust to make after our last inspection in March and April 2024 had been made. Following our last inspection in March 2024, we placed conditions on the provider, telling them to reduce the number of patients admitted to the ASU and preventing them from admitting more patients. At the time of this inspection, the Care Quality Commission had limited the ASU to 3 patients.
At the time of the inspection the trust told us that they planned to close the ASU and open a new purpose built inpatient unit for people with mental health needs and a learning disability or autism.
People's experience of this service
We spoke with one out of the three people admitted to the ASU. We used an augmented communication system with them to help understand their experience at the hospital. They told us they were happy at the service, staff treated them well and they felt safe.
We spoke to two families of people admitted to the service and received mixed feedback about the care and treatment their family member received. One family was happy and felt the service provided for the needs of their family member. The other family felt the service did not understand the needs of their family member and this meant they had not received a good quality service and had remained at the hospital for longer than they needed to.