Surrey supported living service to close after rated 'inadequate' twice
People using the service will be moved to an alternative provider
A supportive living service for people in Surrey is set to close after damning inspections from the health watchdog have twice labelled it “inadequate”.
Health and care regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), said it has “taken further action … to keep people safe” by removing the registration of Surrey-based care home and supported living provider Mitchells’ Care Homes Limited- which will effectively close the service.
In November 2024 three of the company’s care homes in Smallfield and Horley were shut down by the health watchdog over concerns residents were “at risk of abuse due to institutional neglect”.
Now, the supported living service has also been closed after an inspection from April and May 2024 which saw the service rated as inadequate for a second time.
Inspectors found staff did not always assess risks to people’s health and safety or mitigate them where identified, the CQC said. Staff were not safely recruited or suitably trained, and then required to work long hours over multiple days due to understaffing, the report said.
As Mitchells’ Care Homes Limited’s tribunal appeal was rejected on June 2, 2025, the CQC’s decision has now taken effect and its registration has been cancelled. The company will stop carrying out supported living care in the coming weeks.
It is no longer able to operate a CQC regulated service from any of their twenty-one supported living settings. People using the service will be moved to an alternative provider. It is not known how many jobs have been lost as a result.
At the April inspection the CQC found nine breaches of the legal regulations and then found these concerns had not been addressed in the May assessment.
The CQC said the service had failed to meet regulations in safeguarding, safe care and treatment, staff training, staff recruitment, consent to care, person centred care, dignity and respect and governance.
A CQC statement read: “It’s always a last resort for CQC to take action which may result in a service that people are familiar with closing, as CQC understands the distress and upset this can cause. However, people using services should receive safe, effective and high-quality care that meets their needs. Where that isn’t happening, CQC takes action to support services to improve, and if they aren’t able to, take further action such as cancelling their registration to keep people safe.
“The local authority is working with people who are using Head Office services to support them to choose more appropriate services that can meet their needs safely and support them to live their best lives.”
The inspection was carried out during a tribunal process in which Mitchell’s Care Home Limited were appealing CQC’s proposed action to remove the registration. The CQC also carried out this inspection in order to follow up on the progress of improvements they were told to make at their previous inspection when they were also rated as inadequate.
The service’s overall rating, and the areas of “safe” and “well-led” were again rated as inadequate. “Effective” and “responsive” were re-rated as ‘requires improvement’.
A spokesperson from Mitchells’ Care Homes Limited said: “We would like to clarify that the recent actions taken by the CQC regarding Mitchells’ Care Homes Limited are based on incorrect information.
“All the allegations made against us were subject to appeal at tribunal; however, we were unable to complete this process as we entered administration. From that point onwards, the administrators have made all decisions at MCH, and we were not involved in or heard the final decision.
“Our priority remains the safety and well-being of those we serve, and we are committed to addressing any issues and working with all relevant parties to ensure that appropriate measures are in place. We appreciate the importance of transparency and will keep all stakeholders informed as we navigate this situation.”
The spokesperson claimed that prior to entering administration, Mitchells’ Care Homes was working with another care provider to transfer the care responsibilities, which has now been successfully completed.