'We deeply regret' - Worthing care home has 'comprehensive action plan' after inspectors call for improvements

Marlow is registered to provide residential care for up to 15 people with a range of complex health needs, including people living with a learning disability.

The service – in Nursery Lane, Worthing – was visited by inspectors in November 2024, with a report published in March 2025.

It was given an overall rating of ‘requires improvement’. This applied to safety, effectiveness, care, responsiveness and leadership.

Liaise (South East) Limited, which is in charge of the home, said it ‘deeply regrets’ falling ‘short of our standards’. The company said it has drawn up a ‘comprehensive action plan# and appointed a new manager to ‘ensure that it is delivered in full’.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection summary read: “We assessed this service to seek assurances due to wider provider concerns. The service is a residential care home providing support to people with a learning disability and autistic people.

"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.

"We found two breaches of regulation in relation to staffing and good governance. The service did not always have enough staff available to consistently support people with meaningful and stimulating activities and meet their complex health needs.

"The provider's governance systems were not always effective in monitoring and improving the quality of the service. Improvements were being made and people and relatives generally felt staff treated people with kindness.

"People had mixed experiences with some people being supported with their preferences, while others did not have clear communication and sensory assessments in place to guide staff to develop appropriate communication tools.

"People mostly had choice in their care and were encouraged to maintain relationships with family and friends.”

The home provides accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care for learning disabilities, mental health conditions, physical disabilities and sensory impairments.

The report continued: “People’s experiences were mixed, some people were positive about the quality of their care. They felt safe and were able to speak to staff if they had any concerns.

"We saw this happening during our visits. Some people told us staff knew what was important to them. One person told us ‘I like it here’.

"Another person told us: ‘I chose to go out every day’. We observed staff treating people with kindness during this visit. Not everyone in the service was able to verbally communicate with us, so we spent time observing their experiences of care.

"We used some sign and simple questions where possible to gain people’s views. Relatives gave us mixed feedback. Some relatives told us there had been a high turnover of staff and managers, which had resulted in some inconsistencies with the support their family member received.

"They told us they did not always receive feedback on concerns which had been raised and communication from the service could be improved. We were told stimulating activities were not always available at the service, including supporting people to go out in the local area as much as they would like.

"However, another relative told us they were satisfied with the care and support their family member received. Relatives told us recent changes to management had shown early promise of improvements.

"Relatives were complimentary of individual named staff but felt they had not been supported by Liaise as the provider.”

Liaise has issued a statement following the publication of the report.

A spokesperson said: “The safety and wellbeing of the people we support are our top priorities and we deeply regret falling short of our standards on this occasion.

"The CQC inspected the home in November and its report acknowledges that improvements were being made at the time. We have subsequently drawn up a comprehensive action plan and appointed a new manager to ensure that it is delivered in full.

"We would like to assure the people we support and their families and friends that we take these matters very seriously and are working hard to rectify the issues identified.”

To see the full report, visit https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-3876210683/reports/AP7053/overall