‘Multiple issues and failings’ discovered
Burnham: Care service rated inadequate a second time
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has told Forever Homecare in Burnham to make urgent improvements to keep people safe.
Forever Homecare is a service providing care to people in their own homes. It supports about 36 people across Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.
It provides regular daily visits to help people with their personal hygiene and eating, while live-in staff members offer 24-hour support.
Forever Homecare was placed in special measures after it was graded ‘inadequate' in February – and has been rated ‘inadequate’ again after a recent inspection.
It has ‘multiple issues and failings’, including ‘a disorganised
service’ with staff not properly trained', plus outdated, absent or inaccurate care plans and unsafe medication management.
The needs of people with serious needs such as dementia, diabetes or epilepsy, were overlooked or not recorded properly.
Some staff expressed concern about their colleagues' ability to safely use moving and handling equipment such as a hoist.
People supported by Forever Homecare were not protected from risks of incidents and accidents were not always appropriately recorded, reported or followed up.
Effective systems were not in place for the safe recruitment of staff. Some staff did not have a valid DBS certificate – a check on a person’s criminal record.
The CQC also found that the service was not displaying its current CQC rating publicly at the office or on its website, which it is required to do.
Rebecca Bauers, CQC’s head of inspection for adult social care, said: “It was clear that Forever Homecare was not being well run and this posed a real risk to people’s safety.
“Clearly, this is a situation which cannot continue. We have told the provider that it
must now make urgent improvements in order to keep people safe.
“We will continue to monitor the service closely to ensure that these are made.
“If we are not satisfied that
sufficient improvements have been made, we will not hesitate to take further enforcement action.”
Forever Homecare has been contacted by the Advertiser for comment.