Wigan care service fails to impress inspectors

The future of a Wigan care service is uncertain after it failed to make improvements for the third time running during a care watchdog inspection.
Care service has been told to make improvementsCare service has been told to make improvements
Care service has been told to make improvements

Grade A Care Services, based on Wigan Road in Hindley, has been told to make improvements following an announced inspection from Care Quality Commission inspectors.

The small family-run company, which provides domiciliary care to borough residents, was found to be in breach of two health and social care regulations during its announced audit back in June.

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The CQC has now released the report, which highlights concerns with risk assessment procedures.

Watchdog officers wrote: “This was our third inspection where the rating has not improved from requires improvement.

“We are currently considering our options in response to this third requires improvement rating in line with our methodology.

“At our last inspection we recommended the service sought advice and guidance from a reputable source regarding individual risk assessment documentation.

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“This was because the risk assessments in place did not identify sufficient control measures to mitigate all risks and were not kept under review.

“At this inspection we found this had not been actioned and the risk assessment documentation was unchanged.”

Concerns were also raised over staffing procedures regarding which the company could not prove that two members of staff had been through the vital Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) checks.

“The registered manager carried out recruitment checks, however was unable to demonstrate sufficient oversight had been maintained.

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“This was because the recruitment policy stated the steps to be completed included a disclosure and barring service check (DBS) at enhanced level.

“The registered manager and provider confirmed they had misplaced the DBS numbers for all staff working at the service, which would confirm checks had been completed within the required time frames.

“This had only been realised when the quality performance officer from Wigan had visited and identified this.”

Despite these concerns, the inspectors reported that clients using the service were happy with the staff and the quality of the visits.

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According to the performance officers, employees demonstrated that they knew people well and understood people’s likes, dislikes and preferences.

The report states: “Staff had formulated bonds with people and considered people’s needs even when they were not in work.

“One staff member went shopping for a person or picked up food from the ‘chippy’ for them in their own time.”

A person rated the service as outstanding and indicated they were always recommending the service to others due to the level of care and support they received.

Management have been instructed to take action to ensure that the regulation breaches are addressed.

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