A South Cumbrian homecare firm has been ordered to draw up an action plan after the health watchdog said it required improvement.
Westmoorland & Furness Homecare, based on Rawlinson Street in Barrow, was visited by inspectors from the Care Quality Commission in December.
The firm, run by Woke Healthcare Ltd, supports 36 people with personal care in the town and surrounding areas.
It was the first time the Care Quality Commission had assessed the service and it said it found three breaches of regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, staffing, and good governance.
The report was published this week.
Inspectors said: “There was a lack of consistent oversight of the quality and safety of the service, and auditing processes were not always robust.
“Risk assessments relating to people’s health, safety and welfare were not always in place and those that were in place were not always robust.”
They said they found that accidents and incidents were not always recorded or reported accurately.
They added: “For example, we found that following an incident one set of notes detailed that no ambulance was called, but later notes identified that an ambulance was called.”
Medications were received by clients safely.
The report said that staff were not always recruited safely, and inspectors could not be assured that staff had the appropriate training to carry out their role competently.
The report said the firm had not always carried out its own Disclosure and Barring Service checks, which provide information including details about convictions and cautions held on the Police National Computer.
However, the inspectors said: “When these concerns were identified to the provider during the first day of our inspection, the deputy care manager acted immediately to apply for enhanced DBS, and the results of these checks have been shared with us.
“The deputy care manager assured us that staff files that we did not look at during our visit would be further checked by her, and any concerns actioned.
“Although trained in moving and handling, we did not see any evidence that care staff had been assessed as competent. Improvements were required in how safeguarding concerns were recognised, recorded and reported by the provider.”
The inspection found that the service was effective, caring and responsive. It treated people with dignity and respect.
However, it added: “Complaints had not always been recognised or acted upon in a timely manner.
“The provider did not always make it easy for people to share feedback and ideas, or raise complaints about their care, treatment, and support.
“The provider had failed to identify a complaint noticed by the inspection team during the inspection visit.
“The complaint had been made by a person’s relative by way of daily communication notes on the providers electronic care system.
“The theme of this complaint had been raised previously but had continued to occur.
“However, when the complaint was highlighted to the provider, they acted on it immediately by contacting the relative by telephone and holding a discussion with them.”
The inspection found that the provider did not have a clear shared vision, strategy and culture and its leadership was found to lack direction.
Inspectors said questions about the service could not always be answered by the provider.
While staff could not tell the inspectors about the vision or the values of the service, they said they worked well with each other, their clients and families.
Care staff said they felt well trained to carry out their duties and knew the needs of the people that they cared for well. They added that the provider was supportive, treated them well, and that they were happy working for the provider.
The Care Quality Commission has asked the firm for an action plan in response to the concerns raised in the report.
- The firm was inspected as Westmoorland & Furness Homecare, however on the Woke Ltd website, it is called Westmorland & Furness Homecare
