The charity running a residential centre for recovering drug addicts in Finsbury Park has decided to close it down, after it was put into special measures by inspectors following concerns raised by whistle blowers.

Despite the charity West London Mission working for two years with the CQC to try to bring WLM Haven in Holly Park, Crouch Hill, up to scratch, standards have declined.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) first identified the project ‘needed improvement’ through its rating system in August 2019, but now it considers the service is neither safe nor well led, according to a report published in July.

It was put into special measures in April, when it was deemed to be 'inadequate' by the CQC, after five whistle blowers came forward with concerns over safety and leadership there.

In a statement, West London Mission chief Roger Clark, has announced that despite engaging care home consultants, restructuring the staff team, introducing a new management team, bringing in new policies, clinical procedures and new organisation systems, that the service had been "unable to respond to the extensive regulatory requirements needed", and it will close.

All residents at the substance misuse service, which can accommodate up to 26 men, will now be rehoused by next month.

The CQC report states: "We rated it as inadequate because the service did not provide safe care. Staff did not assess or manage risk well which put clients at risk of avoidable harm.

"Safeguarding concerns were not always investigated in line with the provider’s own safeguarding policy."

It was also said that the service did not have a good track record on safety; serious incidents were not always investigated appropriately, lessons learned were not always identified and measures put in place to prevent future incidents, and medicines were not always managed safely, meaning clients did not always receive their medicines as prescribed.

Mr Clark said: "It is with great sadness that West London Mission has to close the current service at WLM The Haven.

"The organisation would like to thank all staff, volunteers, residents and partner organisations involved in WLM The Haven over its lifetime."