Social care service in Northampton rated inadequate
The Care Quality Commission have put Social Care Solutions Limited Northampton into special measures.
The Care Quality Commission has rated a social care company in Northampton as inadequate and placed the service into special measures.
It follows an inspection of Social Care Solutions Limited Northampton in May, which found it inadequate across five areas including safety and management.
The service helps disabled and autistic people in their homes in West Northants.
CQC Deputy Director of Operations in Northamptonshire, said:
“During our inspection of Social Care Solutions Limited (Northampton), we had serious concerns about how the service was run and the effect this had on the people it supported. Although people were generally happy with the care they received, we found it wasn’t safe and failed to meet expected standards.
“Staff didn’t report all incidents, preventing thorough investigations to identify learning opportunities and improvements. Our inspectors found incidents including physical altercations, falls, unexplained bruising and medication errors where staff either delayed reporting concerns or leaders failed to investigate properly.
“Experience has shown us that services without strong leadership are less likely to meet people’s need in the other areas we inspect, which is what we found here. Leaders weren’t visible or accessible and didn’t put people’s needs first. Although junior leaders demonstrated willingness to learn and develop, they received no opportunities to do so.
“The service didn’t work closely with partners to provide consistent care. Leaders lacked a formal process for assessing people after they returned from hospital. As a result, staff didn’t understand people’s support or equipment needs, placing them at risk.
“We have told Social Care Solutions where urgent changes are needed, and we will monitor the service closely to make sure they improve and keep people safe.”
Inspectors found:
• Staff didn’t adequately support people to keep their homes safe and well-maintained. The service lacked processes for staff to escalate concerns about home safety to the landlord.
• Leaders didn’t ensure that staff received the required training to support people’s specific needs. Staff lacked training in the management of diabetes, epilepsy, and dysphagia, and in best practice for interacting with autistic people or people with a learning disability.
• The service failed to update care plans and risk assessments, leaving staff without an understanding of how to meet people’s current needs.
• Staff didn’t involve people or their relatives in planning or reviewing their care, meaning people didn’t have choice or control in the support they received.
• The service had safe recruitment processes in place, but the manager failed to use them effectively to demonstrate all checks had been completed.
• Staff lacked oversight over the management of people’s medicines and staff competency wasn't regularly updated.
• Some people were at risk of pressure ulcers. Staff used an evidence-based tool to assess and monitor risks but didn’t review this regularly. Inspectors met a person at risk of developing a pressure sore whose risk hadn’t been reviewed since the previous year.
• Inspectors raised concerns about one person with a manager, who said they would seek medical advice from a GP. During a follow-up visit, inspectors found no records of this medical consultation.
What have Social Care Solutions Limited said:
A Social Care Solutions Limited spokesperson said: “The CQC’s April 2025 inspection highlighted concerns about care quality in Northampton.
“We accept the findings of the report and we are sorry that these services have fallen below the high-quality standards we expect.
“We have taken swift action to address the concerns raised in the CQC report, including changes in leadership and retraining staff at the service to embed and ensure lasting improvement.
“We are committed to continually improving and, where we fall short, we act decisively to make it right.”