The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has rated Lav Care Services - East of Anglia, in Newmarket, Suffolk as inadequate and placed the service into special measures to protect people, following an inspection finished in December last year.
Lav Care Services - East of Anglia, run by Lav Care Services Ltd, is a domiciliary and supported living care service that supports people with a learning disability, autistic people, older people and those living with complex mental and physical health care needs.
CQC inspected the service in response to concerns CQC received about the management of the service. This was CQC’s first inspection of the service.
Following this inspection, the overall rating for the service, as well as the areas of safe and well-led are rated as inadequate. The areas of caring, responsive and effective are rated as requires improvement.
CQC has kept the service in special measures, meaning it will be kept under review and closely monitored to ensure people are receiving safe care.
Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said:
“When we visited this service, it was extremely disappointing to see how ineffective leadership had directly contributed to poor care. We found leaders hadn’t always investigated or learned when things went wrong, and didn’t always listen to concerns raised by staff.
“Staff lacked training on how to care for autistic people and people with a learning disability. People weren't being supported by staff who had the right skills and knowledge to meet their needs safely.
“People weren't always empowered to make decisions important to them. For example, we saw people being moved over 20 miles away from where they lived, without proper consultation or clear record of consent. This is simply not acceptable, people should be at the heart of decisions about their care and where they live.
“The service failed to provide basic standards of safe and dignified care. In one supported living home, we found a broken window that wouldn’t close, leaving people living in an insecure environment that posed a clear safety risk. We also saw that someone had been left without heating and hot water for several weeks, and this was only resolved after our inspectors intervened.
“Staff lacked understanding of local safeguarding protocols. Some staff didn’t understand what would count as abuse or how to report it, which put people at risk. We were also concerned that incidents and accidents weren’t always reported to us or the local authority as required. For example, staff hadn't recorded an incident when one person sustained a broken finger whilst being supported until 10 days later.
“We expect health and social care providers to support autistic people and people with a learning disability in line with the right support, right care, right culture guidance, and guarantee them the safety, choices, dignity, and independence that most people are able to take for granted. It wasn’t acceptable that leaders were allowing a culture to exist where people weren’t being given the opportunity to lead their best lives.
“We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid improvements and we will continue to monitor the home closely to keep people safe during this time. 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.”
Inspectors also found:
- People’s care records were inconsistent and lacked detail, meaning staff did not always have the information they needed to provide safe or appropriate care.
- Care plans lacked essential detail for people with complex health needs. They did not consistently identify potential triggers or outline how staff should support people experiencing emotional distress.
- CCTV was being used in shared areas of people’s supported living homes without their knowledge or agreement.
- Tenancy and care agreements were not separated as required in supported living, and some people did not have signed agreements at all.
- People’s access to activities and hobbies was limited due to rural locations.
- There were no clear systems in place to regularly assess or monitor staff competence in delivering care, including those recruited from overseas.
However:
- Staff worked well with other health and social care professionals such as community nurses, GP and social workers when needed.
The report will be published on CQC’s website in the coming days.