A Liverpool care service has been deemed unsafe with staff alleged to have said they did not have time to read patients’ care plans.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has issued a warning notice to Litch Care Services following an inspection on Jericho Lane in September. It has deemed the service to be inadequate after finding failings in its safety, leadership and effectiveness.
A report made public by the CQC said it was the business’ first inspection when officials visited last month. Litch Care Services Limited Liverpool provides personal care to people living in their own homes.
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In the report, officials said staff they spoke to “failed to demonstrate a thorough knowledge of people's identified risks and needs. One staff member told us they did not always have time to read people's care plans.”
One staff member is said to have told officials: “There are care plans. Sometimes we don't have time to read them because we are going from one job [call] to another. Sometimes if things change, we don't get to find out straight away."
The CQC said it had received mixed feedback from family members regarding staff interactions and the overall quality of the service their relatives received. Its assessment added that the company’s registered manager “failed to demonstrate adequate knowledge and understanding of their role and responsibility regarding the assessment of people's capacity.”
It said: “Some people's care plans contained information that contradicted the outcome of mental capacity assessments. People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.”
In addition, people were exposed to an increased risk of harm as their care needs and associated risks had not been routinely assessed, monitored and mitigated. Further to this, staff had not received training in infection prevention and control (IPC) since 2018 and only one staff member had received training in relation to covid-19.
This meant staff did not have the most up to date knowledge regarding risks associated with IPC and coronavirus. Litch Care Services was first registered with the Care Quality Commission in December 2020.
The care provider was approached by the ECHO for comment.
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