Registration removed from Bridport care agency rated inadequate
The CQC is taking steps against Emmcare following an inspection
A Bridport personal care agency has been stripped of its registration after being rated as inadequate by Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors.
They made checks at Emmcare in October, and found it was 'poorly managed', while 'issues identified at a previous inspection hadn't been addressed'.
The CQC say they've taken action to protect people, with the business decided not to appeal the decision.
People using the personal care services will be moved to alternative providers in the coming weeks.
Neil Cox, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said:
“When we inspected Emmcare, we were concerned to find it was being poorly managed and issues identified at our previous inspection hadn’t been addressed. This meant people using the service were still at risk of harm and their care fell below the standard they have a right to expect.
“During the inspection, we found continued breaches of regulations in relation to how people’s medicines were managed, providing safe care and treatment, and staffing.
“Leaders didn’t ensure there were enough skilled staff to support people. During the inspection, we found there wasn’t enough staff to safely support people. The registered manager acted on this by giving notice to a person who wasn’t receiving personal care, which ends their contract with Emmcare, so staff could focus on supporting others who were receiving personal care. However, this could have been addressed before our visit.
“Leaders also hadn’t ensured staff received the right supervision, training and support to provide safe care. Several staff worked on a more casual basis and the registered manager didn’t consider them as their staff. This put people at risk of harm as these staff members weren’t given training or supervision.
“Leaders also hadn’t ensured medicines were being managed safely. Medicine records and guidance for staff were inconsistent. For example, staff had failed to record how much pain relief had been given to someone, or where prescribed creams had been applied. One person’s notes said that they would apply their eye drops independently, but in another record it said staff would apply them, which put them at risk of receiving more medicine than they needed.
“It’s always a last resort for CQC to take action which may result in a service that people are familiar with closing, as we understand the distress and upset this can cause. However, people using services should receive safe, effective and high-quality care that meets their needs.
“Where that isn’t happening, we take action to support services to improve, and if they aren’t able to, take further action such as cancelling their registration to keep people safe which is what we have done here.”
West Dorset's MP Edward Morello has also responded to the findings and action taken:
“I am pleased that the Care Quality Commission has finally acted to remove Emmcare’s registration. Emmcare has failed repeated inspections and not complied with the demands for improvement.
"I am only sad that it has taken so long for this stage to be reached, undoubtable vulnerable people have been at risk during this lengthy process. While I welcome this decision what is important now is that alternative providers are found quickly for those affected.”