Care service put in special measures after failings

A care service that was found to have serious safety and safeguarding failings has been placed into special measures.

Lav Care Services - East of Anglia, based in Newmarket, Suffolk, is a domiciliary and supported living care service for the elderly, those with mental and physical care needs and others with learning disabilities since 2018.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) visited the service, which has several sites, at the end of last year before giving it an overall rating of inadequate.

Hazel Roberts, deputy director of CQC operations in the east, said it was "extremely disappointing" while a spokesperson for the service said it had created an action plan to address the issues.

During their visit, inspectors did note how people were "generally happy with their care", but assessments found care "did not meet the expected standards".

Six breaches of regulations were found in relation to risk management, safeguarding, consent, staff training, fit and proper persons employed and governance.

Inspectors noted there was one incident where a person had sustained a broken finger that had not been recorded within their daily notes until 10 days afterwards.

However a GP had been contacted and the service said the person's family was aware.

Another issue highlighted was that CCTV was being used in shared areas of people's supported living homes without their knowledge or agreement.

Inspectors were also not informed of its use while present.

On another occasion a downstairs kitchen window had been broken and was not closing, exposing a wide gap.

Staff said it had been reported "some time ago", but senior staff "were unaware of any records".

Ms Roberts said the CQC had told leaders it expected to see "rapid improvements".

"We will continue to monitor the home closely to keep people safe during this time," she said.

"We will return to check on progress and won't hesitate to use our regulatory powers further if people aren't receiving the care they have a right to expect."

A spokesperson for Lav Care Services Ltd argued points raised in the report were "factually incorrect" and it had provided information to CQC to challenge some of these.

The company pointed out that one of the sites inspected no longer had any service users, but it aimed to improve by adding new managers with "different experiences" as well as ensure staff had been "attending refresher training and new training" to broaden their skillbase.

The spokesperson added the service had sent its action plan to the CQC, but was yet to receive a response.

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