Becoming Care Services Limited

There was a lack of robust governance or oversight of the service by management. Although the registered manager told us they reviewed aspects of the service such as care plans, daily notes and people’s medicine records, they had no evidence to support this and they told us they did not record the audits. This meant improvements that were required to the service had not been identified by the registered manager and there was a risk than on-going issues may not be identified.

People’s care plans lacked sufficient detail to ensure staff would know how to look after the person; particularly if they were staff who were unfamiliar with the people receiving the care. However, everyone who received the service was able to tell staff how they wished to be cared for.

People’s medicine records were not well kept. We found gaps in some records and where people had medicinal creams, there was a lack of clear instructions on where these should be applied. These inconsistencies may affect safe medicine administration.

Staff were not recruited through a robust process. The registered manager had assured themselves that prospective staff were suitable to work in this type of service which meant people may be at risk of receiving care from unsuitable staff.

We found the service in breach of regulations related to safe care and treatment, recruitment processes, and good governance.

Staff understood their requirements to report any safeguarding concerns, and they had been trained in the Mental Capacity Act (2005), so were aware of the need to obtain a person’s consent prior to providing care.

Staff respected people’s houses and followed good infection control practices as they removed their shoes when coming into a person’s home and wore gloves, aprons and masks.

Staff received sufficient training and felt supported by the registered manager and senior management. They told us they did not feel rushed when they were providing care to people and that they had the opportunity to meet together face to face on a regular basis.

Staff supported people to access healthcare professional input when required and encouraged people to eat and drink enough to maintain their health.

The registered manager recognised improvements were needed in the service, particularly in relation to staff timekeeping and their governance processes. It was evident they were keen to run a good service that provided appropriate care to people.