Newport nursing care company “needs improvement” after CQC inspection

Newport-based Brockton Care Limited was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in October and the results were recently published.

Home care agencies were judged to “need improvement” in four out of the five areas evaluated. These are whether the service is safe, effective, responsive, and well-coached.

Assessing whether the service was considerate, inspectors found it to be ‘good’.

Brockton Care provides personal care to people living in their own homes, and at the time of the survey, 164 people were using the service. CQC only inspected services that provided personal care.

The main areas of concern raised by the CQC were based on healthcare management and governance. Inspectors said the provider did not meet regulations in these areas.

The report states: “The management of medicines was unsafe and people were at risk of not receiving their medicines as prescribed. I don’t have access to any protocols to do that.

“Provider governance was ineffective in ensuring that all staff had access to relevant training or in adapting the principles of the Will and Capacity Act. and was at risk of potential harm.”

Inspectors found that people received “kind and considerate care” from the service and that staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity.

CQC added that the agency’s staff “understand and respond to” the individual needs of service users and understand how to protect people from poor care and abuse.

“Staff supported people to have the greatest possible choice, control and independence, and they were able to take control of their own lives,” the inspector added. “Involving people in care assessments ensures that they receive services that reflect their preferences.

“Staff knew and understood people and were responsive and supportive of their aspirations to live the high quality of life they chose.”

However, the inspectors added that the principles of the Will and Capacity Act “are not always observed to presume that people have capacity unless instructed otherwise”.

The CQC added that although systems were in place to monitor calls, people sometimes “experienced delays or missed calls”.

The inspection followed a review of information held by the inspectorate about the service.

As a result of our findings, the overall rating of the service has been changed from ‘Good’ to ‘Requires Improvement’.

Brockton Care Limited has been asked to submit a report to the inspectorate setting out what action it will take following breaches of medicines management and provider governance regulations.

CQC then checks whether the action was taken by the service provider.

Brockton Care Limited has been contacted for comment.