The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated a domiciliary care agency based in South Croydon inadequate and placed it in special measures, following an inspection last year.
CQC inspected Jocelyn Cares Domiciliary Limited because it was a newly registered service that had not been previously inspected.
The inspection found the service was not meeting standards people have a right to expect and that risks to their safety were not well managed.
In addition to being rated inadequate overall following the inspection, the service has been rated inadequate for being safe and well-led. It has been rated requires improvement for being effective, caring and responsive to people’s needs.
The service has also been placed in special measures which means it will be inspected again in the coming months. If inspectors find insufficient improvement, CQC will take further action which could lead to its closure.
James Frewin, CQC head of adult social care inspection, said:
“It is unacceptable that risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were not well managed by Jocelyn Cares Domiciliary Limited.
“Basic measures, such as ensuring staff had up-to-date safeguarding training and risk assessments to prevent people coming to harm, had not been undertaken.
“Mitigating risk should be embedded in the culture of good services, but it was not evident here.
“We also found people’s wishes were not always sought or acted upon. This included incorrect resuscitation preferences in medical records, meaning people could be administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), if they suffered a cardiac arrest, when this was not their preference.
“Behind these issues was ineffective management which failed to identify the issues the service faced and develop solutions to support people to enjoy the best possible outcomes.
“However, people and their families told us they and were treated with kindness, respect and compassion by friendly and caring staff.
“This service is now under close monitoring. If our next inspection does not assure us improvements have been made, we will take further action which could lead to its closure.”
Inspectors found:
- Care was not always delivered in line with guidance or planned to support people to have maximum possible choice, control and independence.
- Risks to people’s safety were not always assessed, monitored and managed. This included poor management of people’s medicines and a lack of safeguarding measures to protect people from the risk of abuse.
- Written records used by staff to describe people's behaviour were sometimes inappropriate.
- People and staff were not always adequately protected from COVID-19.
- People did not always have detailed, personalised risk assessments and care plans. This meant staff did not have all information needed to support and protect them from harm.
- There were not enough suitably competent and skilled staff to support people’s safely, and recruitment procedures did not ensure appointments were always safe. Some staff training was out of date – a situation which was worsened because care workers did not always receive suitable supervision.
- The service did not learn from incidents when people experienced distress to avoid and reduce future instances.
- Problems had become embedded because the service was not well managed. Leaders did not promote a learning culture, undertake adequate quality checks or ensure people received person-centred care.
However:
- Staff knew and understood people, and they supported their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing. This included encouraging people to make healthy choices, be more active and maintain a balanced diet.
- Consent was generally obtained when required, and staff supported people to make decisions about their care, communicating with them in ways that met their needs.
- People and their families said they felt safe. They also reported being treated with kindness, respect and compassion by friendly and caring staff.
- There was a complaints procedure and feedback surveys were undertaken. The registered manager was approachable, and people could raise issues directly with them.
The inspection report is available on our website.
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