Craig Howarth, CQC regional deputy director of mental health, said his team had found leaders at Pine House did not have the “skills, knowledge or experience to lead the service effectively”.
He said the service had also not had a registered manager in place since November 2023.
“It was concerning that leaders didn’t have a good understanding of Mental Health Act requirements,” Howarth said.
“We found issues including medicines being given without relevant consent or second opinion and peoples’ rights not being clearly explained so they didn’t always understand them, including what they had to do to be able to leave the service.
“This had a negative effect on peoples’ mental health.”
The CQC said it had begun the process of taking regulatory action against Kibo Hospital Services Limited, which has the right to appeal.
Some patients described having their community leave stopped without understanding why.
“They told us they were feeling frustrated at being without access to the community,” the report said.
All patients who spoke to the CQC said they did not have enough access to their psychiatrists and felt like their “concerns were not acted upon”.