- 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 14 October 2026
Contents
Ratings - Wards for people with learning disabilities or autism
Our view of the service
The Brook is a new 10-bed inpatient unit located on the Langdon Hospital site in Dawlish, Devon.
The Brook has three corridors called Oak, Willow and Hazel and is designed to support individuals with mental health needs, learning disabilities, and autism. The unit focuses on recovery and aims to help patients transition towards independent living. It has been co-designed with people with lived experience.
Devon Partnership NHS Trust is registered with the CQC to deliver the following regulated activities: Treatment of disease, disorder or injury, and Assessment or medical treatment for persons detained under the Mental Health Act 1983.
The Brook is a service for people with learning disabilities and autism that was opened on 5 August 2025. This is the first inspection of the service since it was opened and was conducted to provide the first comprehensive rating of the service. We found that the service good overall.
Our inspection team comprised of mental health inspectors, a senior specialist and an expert by experience. Before the inspection visit, we reviewed information that we held about the provider, asked a range of other organisations for information and sought feedback from patients.
During the inspection, we visited all three corridors; Oak, Willow and Hazel. The inspection team spoke with 5 patients who were using the service, 11 staff members including doctors, nurse prescribers and allied health professionals. The inspection team looked at 4 care and treatment records from a population of 6 patients and reviewed a sample of staff personnel files. The inspection team carried out a specific check of the medication management and prescribing practises and looked at a range of policies, procedures and other documents relating to the running of the service.
This was an unannounced inspection. At this inspection we assessed all 34 quality statements across the safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led key questions. We have assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. At this inspection we found that the service had met most of the requirements of a safe, effective, caring and responsive service, but had not met all the requirements of a well-led service.
People's experience of this service
People using the service had a mixed reaction to the service while carers were generally content with the service.
One patient told us staff treat him well and understand his likes and dislikes and respect his sleep pattern. Another patient said staff offer her different things to do, treat her with respect and she feels more talkative with people than when she first came to the service. One patient told us he has had some conflicts with various staff members and another patient, and some medication issues. He has emailed the trusts’ patient experience team about food and access to smoking paraphernalia which were answered. This patient said he feels his treatment has helped him and he drinks more water now and has some coping mechanisms.
One carer told us “The Brook are a breath of fresh air. I think they’re very inclusive, very thorough, the best experience I’ve had so far, [I'm] generally very impressed.” Another carer said “They’re very open ... they actively seek my views about what is helpful for supporting my loved one. There’s a lot of care and respect” “Staff seem to genuinely care ... they all seem lovely.” “There is a lot there that’s good, [but] everyone needs to work better as a team. There needs to be more trust within the team - a power imbalance is detrimental to the team.”
Patients, carers and staff told us that MDT meetings were not consistently well chaired and the required professionals were sometimes missing from the meetings.