Because We Care Northampton

Assessment date: 06 to 30 January 2026

Because We Care Northampton is a domiciliary care agency providing support to people in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. At the time of inspection, 6 people were receiving personal care support.

This inspection was carried out to check whether the provider had made the required significant improvements identified at the last inspection.

Improvements were not found at this assessment, and the provider remained in breach of legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment, safeguarding, staff recruitment, medicines management, consent and governance.

People and their relatives spoke positively about the kindness and attentiveness of the provider and staff. However, there continued to be widespread and significant shortfalls in leadership, governance, and the delivery of safe, effective care.

People continued to experience avoidable risks due to ineffective incident oversight, poor risk management, and unsafe medicines practices, including missed doses and inconsistent recording. Safeguarding processes were not robust, and leaders lacked the required knowledge to identify or act on concerns.

Care plans lacked detail, assessments were not routinely updated, and bestpractice guidance was not embedded. Decisions were made without appropriate professional oversight, and there continued to be no evidence of mental capacity assessments or lawful best interest processes.

Leadership remained ineffective and governance arrangements were not embedded. Systems to monitor quality, manage risks, or drive improvement were either absent or not followed. Engagement with staff, external partners, and the wider community was limited, and learning from incidents or previous inspections was not demonstrated.

The service is being placed in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide.

In instances where CQC has begun a process of regulatory action, we may publish this information on our website after any representations and/or appeals have been concluded, if the action has been taken forward.

Assessment date: 10 to 23 June 2025. Because We Care Northampton is a domiciliary care agency providing support to people in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. At the time of inspection, 7 people were receiving personal care support.

There were widespread and significant shortfalls in leadership, governance, and the delivery of safe, effective care. People and their relatives spoke positively about the kindness and attentiveness of individual staff, however, the assessment found that care was not always person-centred or delivered in line with best practice. Staff had not received sufficient training, and there were no systems in place to assess their competence. Care plans lacked personalisation and did not reflect people’s preferences, goals, or cultural needs. People’s rights under the Mental Capacity Act were not upheld. The provider did not demonstrate a learning culture. Incidents were not consistently investigated, and opportunities to improve safety were missed. Safeguarding concerns were not always recognised or acted upon. Medicines were not managed safely, and documentation was inconsistent. Risk assessments were incomplete or lacked sufficient detail to mitigate known risks. Although staff demonstrated compassion and respect to people, records showed dismissive language used by leaders. Care plans lacked detail about people’s individual identities, preferences, and aspirations. Leadership was ineffective. The registered manager and provider failed to ensure compliance with their regulatory responsibilities. There was no effective system to monitor quality or drive improvement. Staff did not always feel listened to, and there was limited evidence of meaningful engagement or support.

The provider was in breach of the legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment, safeguarding, staff recruitment, medicines management and consent. The provider was previously in breach of the legal regulation in relation to staffing and governance. Improvements were not found at this assessment, and the provider remained in breach of these legal regulations. The service is being placed in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide. In instances where CQC has begun a process of regulatory action, we may publish this information on our website after any representations and/or appeals have been concluded, if the action has been taken forward.