Care firm My Homecare Reading put clients at risk, report finds

A relative of a person who uses the home care firm said they had "absolutely no confidence" in it

An inadequate care firm put clients at risk of avoidable harm and failed to obtain required recruitment information for some staff, inspectors found.

My Homecare Reading provides personal care for people in their own homes.

A report said the agency did not run "effective and robust recruitment and selection procedures" to ensure they employed suitable staff.

A relative of a person who uses it told the Care Quality Commission (CQC) they had "absolutely no confidence" in it.

"[My Homecare Reading] have failed in many respects of the care that my [relative] needed... the whole situation is extremely poor from start to finish," they said.

CQC inspectors found none of the seven recruitment files they reviewed contained all of the required recruitment information.

Missing information included previous employment history and reasons for leaving previous jobs.

An allegation of verbal abuse against a member of staff in one case had not been raised with relevant authorities to investigate it properly.

The CQC said failing to report incidents "placed people at risk of ongoing harm or abuse".

Despite the concerns, one service user said they felt "absolutely safe" in the company's care.

The CQC's report found the company had been "open and transparent" about issues they were having at the time of the inspection in June.

Staff at the firm told inspectors they felt supported by management but had not had any team meetings, which CQC said "would have been useful to have" to discuss various matters about the service.

Following the inspection, the CQC rated the care agency inadequate.

The BBC has contacted My Homecare Reading for comment.