Watchdog finds poor leadership at care service

The care service was found to be in six breaches of regulations

A care service that supports people with dementia and disabilities to live in their own homes has been rated inadequate by inspectors.

South Norfolk Carers, based at Brooke, near Norwich, has been placed in special measures by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which inspected it over October and November.

Inspectors found "widespread failings", evidence of "poor leadership" and that multiple regulations had been breached.

A spokesperson for South Norfolk Carers said: "While the majority of our services continue to meet the high standards our clients expect, we recognise that any shortcomings are unacceptable, and we have taken decisive action to put things right."

The service provides care to adults living in their own homes with dementia, a physical disability or sensory impairment.

Inspectors rated the service "good" in 2016 and as "requires improvement" in 2019.

However, the latest report found there had been breaches of regulations in relation to medicines and risk management, person-centred care, staffing, complaints, consent, and governance.

Governance systems were said to have failed to identify and rectify widespread and significant concerns.

Safeguarding concerns were not consistently raised with appropriate authorities and people were left vulnerable to harm.

'Poor leadership'

Stuart Dunn, CQC deputy director of operations in the east of England, said: "We found widespread failings that had left people unsafe and unsupported.

"Our inspection found that poor leadership at the service was behind the majority of issues as they had allowed a closed culture to develop, and weren't making sure people were receiving effective, person-centred care."

He said inspectors were told there was a high turnover of staff, often leaving users feeling "anxious or depressed".

Staff were also left feeling undervalued and under pressure.

Complaints were said to be poorly handled and people felt their concerns were dismissed, mismanaged or ignored, leaving them feeling "unheard" and "lacking confidence" in the service.

Mr Dunn said the service would now be closely monitored and that leaders had been told where the commission expected to see immediate and significant improvements.

A spokesperson for South Norfolk Carers said: "We are deeply committed to delivering safe, high-quality care to every person we support.

"Our priority remains the wellbeing and safety of all of our clients, and we see this as an opportunity to learn, improve, and ensure our services exceed expectations moving forward."