A West Norfolk home care service has been downgraded from “outstanding” to “inadequate” by a health watchdog and placed in special measures.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected Dedicated Care East Anglia, based in King’s Lynn, and found it had breached five legal regulations relating to person-centred care, consent, safeguarding, good management and safe care and treatment.
Hazel Roberts, CQC’s deputy director of adult social care for the East of England, said: “When we inspected Dedicated Care East Anglia, we found leaders didn’t ensure people received safe care and support consistently.”
The service, which provides domiciliary and supported living care and is based at Tansley Business Park, was inspected following potential concerns about the care and support people received.
At the time of the inspection, which finished in August, four people were receiving domiciliary care and 30 were in supported living.
The regulator found staff were not always following policies and procedures, were failing to raise safeguarding concerns and had used equipment known to be faulty.
Inspectors also found that staff had sometimes failed to seek medical advice when it was needed and that leaders had not always ensured medicines and treatments were safe.
In one case, a person’s risk assessment failed to identify all the risks associated with taking blood-thinning medication, including what staff should do if the person suffered a head injury or fall.
The CQC also raised concerns about how incidents were handled.
Ms Roberts said: “On one occasion, a staff member had climbed out of a window for a cigarette while the person they supported was visually distressed.
“Due to it not being investigated, no lessons were learnt or shared with staff about the expectations of their duty of care.”
The watchdog said leaders did not always listen to safety concerns and some incidents had not been investigated or reported.
However, inspectors found that people and their families were largely happy with the care provided and that staff supported people to live in clean environments.
Care provider responds
A spokesperson for Dedicated Care East Anglia told the BBC the company was “deeply disappointed” and that the rating did not “reflect the positive feedback” it had received from service users and their families.
The company also said it believed the report contained some “inaccuracies”, according to the BBC.
It said: “That said, we have fully taken on board the comments and recommendations for action and improvements made by CQC.
“The management team, with the support of all our dedicated staff, has put in place a plan of action for continuous improvement which we are determined will secure a ‘Outstanding’ rating again at the next inspection as a matter of urgency.
“We continue to be committed to providing the very best care.”
The CQC said it had imposed conditions on the provider and begun the process of taking further regulatory action.
The service will be closely monitored while improvements are made.
