29 November 2011
The Care Quality Commission has issued a formal warning to Mr Maed Darwich of Abacus Care, Bournemouth that he must make urgent improvements to standards of care or face further action.
The warning follows an unannounced visit by inspectors to Abacus Care, Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth in October 2011 to check that improvements required by a previous inspection had been made.
Inspectors found that the company was still not complying with regulations covering arrangements to administer medicine and staff recruitment procedures.
Information about people's needs in relation to their medicines was not clear or comprehensive. Medicines that had been administered to people were not always recorded properly and it was not clear that they were always receiving their medicines as prescribed.
Inspectors also found that checks carried out on staff as part of the agency's recruitment procedures had not been fully completed before they started to visit people who used the service. There were gaps in employment history which had not been verified by the provider and references were not always obtained as evidence of their suitability for employment.
Ian Biggs, regional director of CQC in the South West region, said: "The law says that these are the standards that everyone should be able to expect. Providers have a duty to ensure they are compliant.
“This warning sends a clear and public message that Abacus Care Bournemouth needs to address this issue.
“Our inspectors will return to this agency in the near future and if we find that the service is not making the required progress we won’t hesitate to use our legal powers to protect the people who use this service."
Ends
For further information please contact the CQC press office on 0207 448 9401 or out of hours on 07917 232 143.
Notes to editors
CQC will publish further details of the inspectors’ findings in a review of compliance on its website at a later date.
CQC has issued a warning notice to Mr Maed Darwich requiring action to meet:
- Regulation 13 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. Management of medicines
- Regulation 21 of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. Staffing procedures
If these improvements are not made, CQC has a range of enforcement powers which include restricting the services that a provider can offer, or, in the most serious cases, suspending or cancelling a service. CQC can also issue financial penalty notices and cautions or prosecute the provider for failing to meet essential standards. Any regulatory decision that CQC takes is open to challenge by a registered person through a variety of internal and external appeal processes.
Read the reports
Read the reports from our checks on standards at Abacus Care.