Social care company in special measures after BBC report

Helen Smith said she was so concerned that she alerted the NHS provider which had assigned Santos to the family

A social care provider has been placed in special measures and lost its licence to sponsor foreign workers, following an investigation by BBC News.

Santos Care, based in Wolverhampton, has been condemned as inadequate, in the wake of a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection.

Santos had been recruiting staff abroad to work in people's homes as carers.

The Home Office said Santos has now been suspended from sponsoring foreign workers.

Staffordshire County Council, which last year used Santos to provide care for a small number of people at home, said it was no longer employing them.

Helen Smith told the BBC that when Santos staff were assigned to look after her mother, Mary, at home, she had to use YouTube videos to show them how to use basic equipment.

'Absolutely dreadful'

"We could tell that, particularly, one of the carers was very new to the country and had no training whatsoever," she said.

"Our concerns became greater because we could see that the care workers were working seven days a week.

"It's been absolutely dreadful because we are also trying to look after our mum and she is obviously our priority, but at the same time I can't turn my back on the people that were taking care of her."

The family now has a different provider.

Ms Smith was so concerned that she alerted the NHS team which had assigned Santos to the family.

Initially nothing was done, but after the BBC contacted them they launched an investigation.

Santos had told the BBC the criticisms were unfounded.

Failings identified by the Care Quality Commission:

In response to massive vacancies in social care in the UK, the government added care workers to the shortage occupation list in 2022

• Care plans and risk assessments lacked the necessary details to ensure people received safe care

• Care plans and medication records did not always contain accurate information about the medicines people were prescribed

• Family members had to show staff how to complete certain tasks

• Staff and the company did not identify a potential safeguarding incident

• Gaps in employment history in staff application forms

• Staff requiring a visa to work in the UK did not have an in-date visa in their recruitment folder. The visas were later produced

The CQC decided to carry out a new inspection as a result of the BBC probe, which has resulted in the company being placed in special measures.

It had already rated Santos as "requires improvement", but in its latest report the watchdog described why it was downgraded to "inadequate", which means people are considered unsafe and at risk of avoidable harm.

The CQC report said it will keep Santos under review.

'Concerned for people's welfare'

"If we do not propose to cancel the provider's registration, we will re-inspect within six months to check for significant improvements," it said.

"Families receiving care from the NHS or local authority cannot decide who is sent into their home without adequate training or understanding of what is required," Ms Smith continued.

"We were concerned for the welfare of the people being cared for, and, also for the care workers that they sponsored.

"There does not appear to be a system in place to verify companies that are registered to provide sponsored visas."

The NHS continuing healthcare team in the Midlands which assigned Santos to Ms Smith's mother told the BBC: "Santos are commissioned to provide care to one family who have indicated they are happy with the service they receive and wish to retain it.

"This will be kept under constant review."

The Home Office confirmed to the BBC that as of 12 January, the company had been temporarily removed from the register of licensed sponsors.

"This suspension followed a visit on 28th November 2023 which identified that the sponsor was not meeting a number of the duties a sponsor is required to fulfil," it said in a statement.

"The suspension halts the use of any of the skilled worker applications and the company has 20 days to provide representation to justify re-instatement as licensed sponsors."

Reduce legal migration

In 2022, in response to massive vacancies in social care in the UK, the government added care workers to the shortage occupation list.

Since the change in the rules, more than 90,000 have been granted visas to enter the UK as care workers.

They have been given visas after receiving certificates of sponsorship from UK employers.

Last month, the government announced it was banning foreign care workers from bringing in dependants, as part of its plan to reduce legal migration.