A HOME care service for Reading and West Berkshire has come under fire from watchdogs recently, after concerns for safety and leadership were raised.

Caremark West Berkshire and Reading, a home care service for elderly and disabled residents, was rated a 'requires improvement' rating by the government regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC) last month.

The rating comes after a follow-up inspection was made on December 8, 2020, and the findings were published on January 28. 

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According to the CQC report, aspects of health and safety measures were criticised in the last inspection (September 2, 2019) and the rating has not changed since.

In the 2019 report, it detailed how medicines were not always managed safely in terms of missing or contradictory documented details on some of the users of the service. 

Reading Chronicle:

In the latest report, the CQC detailed that "some aspects of the service were not always safe and there was limited assurance about safety," and "there was an increased risk that people could be harmed".

They did however state that staff understood current risks and the needs of the people they were caring for, and there had been "no adverse impact on people using the service".

The report also found that 60 per cent of service user's care plans and risk assessments had not been reviewed and updated since the previous inspection.

Similarly, the CQC report found that leadership for the home care service 'requires improvement', keeping the same rating as before. 

This was due to inconsistencies in service management and leadership, and CQC said that not enough improvement had been made to avoid being in breach of regulations at the time of inspection. 

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The report continued: "Although there was no evidence to demonstrate people had experienced harm, the provider could not be assured they had done all they could to mitigate risks associated with people's care and support."

The report also detailed that the December inspection did not inspect on other factors, as they were previously rated 'good', and were therefore not of concern. 

Reading Chronicle:

A Caremark spokesman said: “We would like to reassure all our clients, client’s families and friends that the areas highlighted in this report are already in the process of being addressed. 

"We are working closely at this time with both the CQC and the Local Authority.

"We would like to reassure you that the quality of care and support delivered to clients is  always of the highest standards. "

Caremark explained that a new head of operations had been appointed at the start of 2021, working alongside the care management team to start providing updated staff training. The new leader is also making improvements to better communications and processes for clients and staff via new software.

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The spokesman added: "The safety of our clients and staff is always at the forefront of our thinking and something we pride ourselves on, which is why it is so disappointing to not be able to prove our compliance at this time. 

"However, we have full confidence that all areas highlighted have already been addressed or will be as a matter of urgency. 

"We would like to highlight that the CQC Inspector noted that improvements had been made throughout the report which is a positive outcome and gives reassurance that Caremark is moving in the right direction. 

"We would like to thank all of our Care Workers at this time as they are working so hard under extreme circumstances to deliver the care to our community. 

"We would not want them to feel disheartened at this stage as they are key to our care and support services. 

"Once we have completed addressing these positive changes, we have every confidence that we will be able to prove our compliance in the areas highlighted while continuing to provide the very highest level of care in people’s homes throughout the Thames Valley area.”