Care firm put into special measures by watchdog

Unite Highland Care has been rated inadequate and put into special measures

A company that provides care and support for people with autism and learning disabilities in north Kent has been put into special measures, after inspectors found some clients had been left "at risk of abuse".

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has also downgraded its overall rating of Unite Highland Care in Dartford from good to inadequate.

Among issues uncovered by inspectors were medicines not being managed safely, care plans lacking detail and care calls being poorly managed.

The company said it was "disappointed" by the latest report but had taken "active steps to address concerns".

Unite Highland Care supports people to live in their own homes in Kent, and also cares for people in supported living accommodation. At the time of the inspection 23 people were using the service.

Following the report, the watchdog issued conditions to restrict the company's care packages and demanded immediate action to address safety risks.

Serena Coleman, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said: “They didn’t understand the type of service they were running, and that the principles of supported living accommodation mean these spaces are people’s homes.

"We found leaders had installed visitors’ books inside people’s rooms, built staff and visitors' toilets, an office, and put office signage on the walls, which institutionalised the building.

"We found safeguarding issues, such as incidents between people, hadn’t been raised with us or the local authority which meant people were at risk of abuse."

'Improvements sustained'

A spokesman from Unite Highland Care said: "We are disappointed by the latest CQC assessment findings, however we remain steadfast in our commitment in making improvements and working closely with the CQC to address each identified area

"We have taken active steps to address the regulator’s concerns and remain entirely focused on ensuring the improvements are sustained.

"We have enlisted the support of Fulcrum Care, a nationally recognised care consultancy, in driving forward service improvement. We have implemented new governance systems including a new complaints log, a new incident report tracker, a risk register and regular audits of the service.

"Care and support plans and associated risk assessments are in the process of being reviewed to ensure that they are detailed and contain the relevant information."