Care agency rated inadequate over safety concerns

The domiciliary care service offers support to people in their houses

A Kent care agency has been rated inadequate and placed into special measures after an inspection found "inconsistencies in care" which were "putting people at risk of harm".

Prudent Domiciliary Care Limited, in Rochester, provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited in July and found the service "wasn't being managed well", according to a report released on Wednesday.

The care agency has been contacted for comment.

Serena Coleman, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said the care watchdog was "concerned" by its findings.

"We found a service where the service wasn’t being managed well. Staff schedule challenges were causing inconsistencies in care and putting people at risk of harm," she said.

“Delays to care visits were inconvenient for people and didn’t allow staff the time to give care when it was really needed.

"There were occasions when some visits would be missed entirely. Leaders couldn’t evidence how they could protect people from harm if any care visits were missed."

The report said issues with care visits made people feel "they did not have control or choice around their own care".

It also said processes for the safe management of medicines were "not followed consistently", which "put people at risk of harm".

The report added: "The service had recognised significant issues with the planning and delivery of the care visits, but they didn’t have effective plans to minimise the risks to people.

"The provider and registered manager had not shared the risks and challenges relating to people’s care to the local social services team and had continued to accept new care contracts despite knowing they were not meeting the needs of the people they currently supported."

Prudent Domiciliary Care Limited will be kept under review and closely monitored to ensure people are kept safe whilst improvements are made, said the CQC.