People’s safety put at risk as care service staff ‘not trained or competent’
SAID ESSENTIAL TRAINING HAD
A CARE service put people’s safety at risk because its staff “were not trained, qualified or competent”, a health watchdog has said.
The report by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said staff at UK Top Care, based in Ross Walk, Leicester, lacked essential training.
The company offers home care services, with six of the people it looks after receiving personal care – such as help with hygiene and eating – which is regulated by the CQC.
The watchdog previously rated the company as requires improvement in 2019, but after an inspection of part of the company’s services in February and March this year, it was found it “remained in breach of regulations” despite completing an action plan four years earlier.
As a result of the report, the company’s management will have to meet with CQC representatives to explain how they will improve their rating to good.
Leicester City Council will work with the CQC to monitor its progress.
A report by the inspector who visited the company said people’s safety had been put at risk because staff didn’t receive essential training for their role, including health and safety, support with medicines, safeguarding adults and manual handling.
The report added: “People who required the use of equipment for their safety and movement were supported by staff not trained in moving and handling.
“Staff did not know how to deal with unforeseen emergencies such as a fall. This put people at risk of further harm from untrained staff.”
The inspection found that one member of staff with no social care experience had supported a person for five months without completing induction training.
“The lack of essential training for staff put people’s safety at risk,” the report added.
“The provider had failed to protect people from the risk of harm because staff were not trained, qualified or competent in their role to provide care and support.”
However, since the inspection the company has organised moving and handling training for cases where equipment is necessary to care for people.
The inspector criticised the leadership of the care service, saying it had been managed by an administrative staff member “with limited relevant management experience and knowledge of working in social care” while the registered manager was on holiday.
The report added: “There was no additional external managerial support identified. Care staff relied on each other should they require information or support.”
However, people using the service were happy with the care they received, with one saying: “My carer is very good, she’s kind to me and makes me feel safe.”
The report said staff were recruited safely, with proper security checks carried out.
One person told the CQC: “My carer seems confident, knows how to support me, listens to me and takes steps to make sure there’s no risk of me falling.”
At the 2019 inspection, the company was found to be lacking “an effective system in place for the proper and safe management of medicines”, but management had since made improvements.
In both the latest inspection and the last inspection in 2019, inspectors found that audits and checks in some areas were “not sufficiently robust”.
The company was also criticised in the most recent inspection for failing to have a system to monitor accidents, incidents and complaints, for care plans not being up to date and for staff meetings not being consistent or reliable.
The company’s overall rating was requires improvement, with the CQC giving the same rating in the categories of safe and well led.
But it retained its rating of good in three areas that were not assessed this time – effective, caring and responsive.
The Mercury offered the company the opportunity to comment.