The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated an east London agency that cares for children inadequate and placed it in special measures.
CQC inspected the Achievers Care Solutions Limited, based in Stratford, after reviewing information about its management arrangements.
The inspection found the service, which cared for three children with learning disabilities at the time of inspection, was not providing standards of care people have a right to expect.
In addition to rating it inadequate overall following the inspection, CQC rated the service inadequate for being safe and well-led.
The other questions CQC usually asks when it inspects – is the service effective, caring and responsive to people’s needs? – were not assessed at this inspection due to it being undertaken in response to specific concerns.
The service was previously rated requires improvement.
Due to its findings, CQC placed the service in special measures. This means it is being kept under close monitoring.
Debbie Ivanova, CQC director for people with a learning disability and autistic people, said:
“Our inspection found the service’s safeguarding arrangements, to protect people from the risk of abuse, were poor. This included failing to ensure all staff understood their safeguarding responsibilities and referring concerns to appropriate agencies.
“This situation put the young people using the service at risk of abuse, which is unacceptable.
“We also found people’s care, treatment and support plans did not reflect their range of needs and preferences. Consequently, their wellbeing was not being supported.
“However, people’s relatives told us they were happy with the care their family member received.
“We also found people had the same, regular carers who supported them consistently and understood their individual communication needs.
“We are keeping Achievers Care Solutions under close review and we will inspect it again in the coming months.
“If the service does not make significant improvement, we will not hesitate to take further action.”
The inspection found:
- It was not possible to ascertain whether people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives
- Care plans lacked detail about people’s needs and preferences, so inspectors couldn’t be confident people were always receiving the support they needed. Information about the risks people faced when receiving care was not detailed enough to ensure they received safe support
- It couldn’t be determined whether the service made reasonable adjustments for people so they could be involved in discussions about how they received support
- Not all staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse, and the service had not worked well with other agencies to safeguard people it cared for
- The provider of the service couldn’t evidence that people were supported by staff who understood the wide range of strengths, impairments or sensitivities people with a learning disability, autism or both disabilities may have. This meant inspectors couldn’t be sure people received compassionate and empowering care that was tailored to their needs
- The registered manager lacked understanding of how to manage a registered service. Quality assurance and governance processes weren’t effective as they had not identified issues with, for example, the quality of care plans and risk assessments.
However:
- Staff and families spoke highly of the registered manager and said they found them supportive and approachable
- Care notes indicated people were supported by staff to pursue their leisure interests
- People’s families provided feedback and contributed to reviews of their care. Relatives told CQC they were happy with the care their family members received.