Tribunal turns down care home appeal

The Care Standards Tribunal has rejected an appeal by learning
difficulties charity Alternative Futures against the National Care
Standards Commission’s decision that 11 of its 16 homes were not
suitable for “deregistering”.

The tribunal reached a unanimous decision that Alternatives
Futures’ homes were “establishments providing accommodation
together with nursing or personal care for persons with a mental
disorder”.

The charity, said managing director Steve Cullen, was “very
disappointed” in the tribunal’s decision and that it had failed to
“increase the legal rights and status” of people with learning
difficulties.

Alternative Futures had sought previously to “deregister” five
other homes by introducing supported housing tenancies. But last
autumn the commission ruled that its service users there required
too much personal care and could not sign a supported tenancy
because they did not have the capacity to understand one (news,
page 12, 26 September 2002).