Burgess Hill home care service fails to improve: '˜One person left feeling unsafe'

A Burgess Hill home care service which provides personal care to people living with physical disabilities, mental health needs and dementia, has failed to improve.
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Olive Home Care and Support Limited, in Station Road, had a visit from health bosses on August 17, and August 20, and was rated ‘requires improvement’.

It is the second time the service has received the ‘requires improvement’ rating, following an inspection on August 1, 2017.

Olive Home Care and Support Limited in Burgess Hill, based in Station Road, Burgess Hill, has been told to improve. Picture: Google Street ViewOlive Home Care and Support Limited in Burgess Hill, based in Station Road, Burgess Hill, has been told to improve. Picture: Google Street View
Olive Home Care and Support Limited in Burgess Hill, based in Station Road, Burgess Hill, has been told to improve. Picture: Google Street View
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In this latest inspection, the service also received an ‘inadequate’ rating in one of the key five areas.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) report, which has since been published, said the service had failed to improve because it ‘had not fully ensured staff were suitably trained and deployed to meet people’s needs’.

It added: “At this inspection we identified further areas of practice that required improvement, including breaches of regulation in relation to safe recruitment, safeguarding, safe care and treatment and quality assurance and governance.”

The report said that practice around the administration of medicines was not consistently safe, despite staff being trained and assessed as competent to administer medicines.

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It said people and their relatives had made a number of ongoing complaints in relation to delayed and missed calls since the last inspection.

One person noted in a complaint to the provider that a delay of two hours in their night time call had left them feeling ‘unsafe’.

The report also said that people were not always protected from the risk of harm, abuse or potential abuse.

It added: “Staff could tell us about different types of abuse and were confident the registered manager would take concerns seriously. However, on at least two occasions, peoples’ wellbeing was not promoted as the registered manager did

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not effectively identify, or act on, evidence that abuse may have occurred.”

People did not always receive personalised care and support, the CQC report said. It added: “The changing needs of people were not always considered and consistently supported by detailed care plans.”

‘Caring’ staff were praised in the report. One person said: “They are very nice. I can’t say more than that.”

People and relatives who were currently using the service also said they had recently seen improvements in the service. One relative said: “The service has improved recently, more regular carers, before it wasn’t the case, it’s improved a bit in the last month.”

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The report said breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 were found.

Olive Home Care and Support is a domiciliary care agency registered to provide personal care and support services to a range of people living in their own houses and flats in the community.

At the time of the CQC inspection the service was supporting 20 people.

The service was approached for comment.