The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated GGW Care Limited in south London inadequate and placed it in special measures to protect people from harm, following an inspection in October.
GGW Care Limited is a domiciliary care service that supports people living in their own homes. It provides care to older people, people with physical disabilities, people with mental health needs, as well as people with dementia. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 25 people with personal care.
This unannounced inspection was prompted by a review of the information CQC held about this service and to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.
Following this inspection, the overall rating for GGW Care Limited has dropped from requires improvement to inadequate, as have the ratings for being safe and well-led. The ratings for how caring and responsive the service is have declined from good to requires improvement. The service has again been rated as requires improvement for being effective.
The service is now in special measures, which means it will be kept under close review by CQC to keep people safe and it will be monitored to check sufficient improvements have been made.
Antoinette Smith, CQC deputy director of operations in London, said:
“When we inspected GGW Care Limited, it was disappointing to find a lack of effective leadership and a lack of progress on the improvements we told them to make at our previous inspection. In addition to this, our latest inspection shows further areas where improvements are needed.
“People who were using this service weren’t always safe as the service didn’t have good processes around recruitment. This meant they didn’t always hire staff safely, which could lead to having unqualified or inappropriate staff working with people. We weren’t the only agency who found issues with their recruitment practices. The Home Office removed GGW Care Limited's visa sponsorship license for not following their rules before our inspection.
“Some people using the service were being let down by leaders who didn’t give appropriate training to staff around how to communicate with them. Staff were told by the provider to improve their communication skills and find the best way to communicate with people. This puts the burden on staff rather than then putting a good process in place.
“Our inspectors saw from the records that some people weren’t always being given their medicines safely, or sometimes at all. For example we saw two people that needed multiple doses of medication each day. Staff didn't always record whether each dose was given, creating a risk that they might not get their medications.
“We were also really disappointed to see that some people’s care records weren't always written in a respectful way. In the care plan for one person with a developmental condition, it mentioned them having mood swings because of their illness and described their social interactions as abnormal. This is inappropriate and the service must do better to treat people with dignity.
“We’ve reported our findings to the provider, and they know what they must address. We will monitor the service to ensure people are receiving safe care. If sufficient progress hasn’t been made, we will not hesitate to take action to ensure people’s safety and wellbeing.”
Inspectors found:
- The registered manager didn't always have a clear grasp of the day to day running of the service. It was hard to find clear and consistent information. Some records were missing or inaccurate
- The registered manager and provider didn't consistently show that they had the necessary skills and knowledge for their positions
- Care plan records didn't show people's needs under the Equality Act 2010. Staff were not guided to meet these needs in relation to their personal care
- Some staff told us there was no information to guide them to meet people’s diverse needs in respect of their culture, religion, ethnicity, or sexuality.
However they also found:
- There were enough staff to meet people's needs and cover people's support calls
- There was a system to manage and respond to complaints. People and their family told us they knew how to raise any concerns.
The report will be published on CQC’s website in the next few days.