Archived: Blakehill Healthcare Wiltshire

Updated 20 November 2024

Date of assessment: 27 January and 5 February 2025. The service is a domiciliary care agency providing treatment for disease disorder and injury and personal care to people in the community. This focussed assessment was initiated due to concerns raised about the service and how it was being run. We reviewed all the quality statements in the safe and well-led domains. We found 2 breaches of the legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment and good governance.

The service was not always being managed safely. Staff were not always being recruited in line with current legislation. Staff told us manual handling training was not adequate and the ongoing auditing of staff to ensure their practice was of a good standard did not regularly occur. Medicines were not always being administered safely. For example, a person’s medicine was not being administered in line with the manufacturer’s guidance, whilst other people were being supported with medicines that were not being signed for on a medication administration record (MAR). The provider’s audits failed to identify any issues with medicines, which meant people were put at risk of harm.

The provider had experienced a period of instability for the management of the service due to several changes in the senior leadership team over the last 6 months This meant there was no consistent management oversight within the service.

The provider did not have appropriate oversight of performance to enable them to learn and develop their service.

In instances where CQC has decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/or appeals have been concluded. This 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.

Updated 20 November 2024

People and their relatives shared mixed of feedback about the service. They told us they felt the staff that supported them were “excellent because of their personalities”; another relative said staff were “very helpful”. However, some people and their relatives said staff did not always come at the right time and were rushed in their care as they had to go to their next service user.

Several people and their relatives said they had issues with managers at the service. One relative told us they felt management was not well-organised, whilst another told us they could never get hold of a manager when they called the service.

One relative shared that staff did not always prioritise safety of the person receiving support and another shared they felt that equipment was being used inappropriately and without consent.