Northants home care provider placed in special measures

PHG is one of many private companies that provide care in people's homes

A firm which provides care at home has been rated as inadequate by inspectors and placed in special measures.

The Partnership Healthcare Group (PHG), based in Swan Valley, Northampton, will now be regularly monitored and could have its registration removed.

Inspectors said accidents were not always investigated properly and medicines not always managed safely.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) report described a failure to log care calls as "totally unacceptable".

PHG was set up in 2016, originally under the name of Bucks Healthcare Services, and, according to its website, offered "personalised, one-to-one care that even the very best care home cannot provide".

Its first inspection in September resulted in an overall grading of "inadequate" - the lowest rating given by the CQC.

The company is based in the middle unit of a building in Swan Valley, Northampton

The commission said an inspection was prompted "partly due to concerns received about the recruitment of staff and lack of communication from the provider".

Records from July 2023 also showed 102 unlogged care calls.

Craig Howarth, the CQC's deputy director of operations in the Midlands, said: "The people using this service should have been able to rely on carers to keep them well in their own homes, but this wasn't always happening.

"We found evidence of staff not attending planned care calls which is totally unacceptable and, as a result, CQC raised several safeguarding referrals with the local authority to ensure people were being supported appropriately."

'Keep people safe'

The inspectors also found that care was not being tailored to specific needs, with people who used catheters being placed at risk of infection because they were not being monitored properly.

The CQC found that people with diabetes did not have care plans, so staff did not know how to deal with high or low blood sugar levels, leaving them at risk of deterioration.

Some positive points were highlighted in the inspection report, including the infection prevention practices and the promotion of privacy and independence.

Mr Howarth added: "We will continue to monitor the service closely to ensure the necessary improvements are made and keep people safe during this time.

"If improvements are not made by the time we next inspect, we will not hesitate to take further enforcement action."

The BBC has approached PHG for a response.