Care agency in special measures over safety risk

The domiciliary agency provides personal care in people's homes

A domiciliary care agency in Gravesend, Kent, has been placed in special measures "to protect people" following an inspection.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated Angy Care Limited inadequate following an inspection in September which raised concerns over safety.

Following the inspection, the CQC said it "took urgent action to restrict people being supported by the service" and suspended the registration of the service for three months.

Angy Care, which provides personal care and support in people's homes, has been contacted by the BBC for a response.

Inspectors found that safety risks to people were not managed effectively and staff had not always received the training required to keep people safe.

"Angy Care could not be sure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people," said the CQC.

Serena Coleman, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said the level of care being provided was "completely unacceptable".

"When we inspected Angy Care Limited, we found poor leadership across the service and inadequate systems to keep people safe," said Ms Coleman.

'Risk of abuse, neglect or harm'

"This was clearly demonstrated in the three site visits we carried out to the registered office."

Ms Coleman added that the registered manager did not attend or support all three visits and "didn't engage with inspectors".

"We couldn’t gather enough evidence to ensure that the service was safe," she said, adding this "placed people at immediate risk of abuse, neglect or harm".

The agency also failed to demonstrate how they would and could improve the way the service delivered care, according to the CQC.

"This standard of care we saw being provided by Angy Care Limited is completely unacceptable," said Ms Coleman.

"We expect reasonable engagement from the leaders about their services, whether that is during inspection activity or in our regular monitoring, and people are at risk of coming to harm if the service is operating without the benefit of CQC oversight."

The CQC will closely monitor the service to ensure that improvements are made, it said.