Doncaster homecare agency is rated as Inadequate by the Care Quality Commission

The Care Quality Commission has told 1 Diamond Jones Services Limited that they are failing to meet the required standards of care.

During an unannounced inspection in May 2015 inspectors found that the agency was failing to provide care which was safe, effective, caring, responsive to people’s needs or well led.

Under CQC’s programme of inspections, all adult social care services are being given a rating to help people choose care. Overall, 1 Diamond Jones Services Limited has been rated as Inadequate.

A full report from the inspection has been published on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-440557299.

Since the inspection Doncaster Council has decided to suspend their contract with 1 Diamond Jones Services Limited and has identified an alternative agency to provide care for all people who use the service.

CQC is now taking further action against the provider 1 Diamond Jones Services Limited in line with its enforcement policy.

The report highlights several areas of concern, including:

• Staff recruitment procedures were not robust. The provider was not carrying out relevant checks when they employed staff to work with vulnerable adults.
• Inspectors were concerned that people were not receiving consistent care, as visits were often carried out by different carers. On occasions visits were delayed or cancelled without notice.
• The provider did not have suitable arrangements in place to ensure that staff were appropriately trained and supervised to deliver care to service users safely and to an appropriate standard.
• Staff had failed to notify CQC of safeguarding incidents in line with legal requirements.
• Some people were not being supported to manage their medicines safely. Medicines administration records were incomplete so it was not clear whether people had taken their medication as prescribed.
• The provider had failed to introduce an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.
• Care records were not sufficiently detailed, completed, accurate or up-to-date to ensure the care people received met their needs.

Debbie Westhead, CQC’s Deputy Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care in the North, said:

“Homecare agencies provide a vital service to help people get on with their daily lives, but inconsistent or unreliable care can be very worrying, particularly for people who depend on their care worker and may have no one else to call on.

“We found the care provided by 1 Diamond Jones Service Limited fell a long way short of the level of service we expect.

“The provider has a responsibility to ensure that people are safe and protected from the risk of harm and people have a right to high quality care.

“Systems should be in place to monitor the quality of the service, and it is of significant concern that 1 Diamond Jones Services Limited did not have such systems in place to halt the deterioration in the service.

"Since the inspection we have been working closely with Doncaster Council. We have placed this service in special measures and are taking further action in relation to this provider. We will report on this when it is completed.

Ends

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