A CARE service in Abingdon has received a critical report from a watchdog due to mismanagement of medicines, risk of harm to its patients and unsuitable staff.

All-Care Ltd was rated as ‘requires improvement’ — the second lowest rating possible — by the Care Quality Commission, the independent regulator of health and social care in England, after an inspection in October.  

The service provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes and people who are discharged from hospital and require support with rehabilitation.

At the time of the inspection there were 65 people using the service. Inspectors raised concerns regarding the safety of people using the service and said that medicines were ‘not always managed safely.’  

READ MORE: New eye clinic opening in Abingdon

The report said: “People were not always protected from the risk of harm. Care plans did not always contain information specific to people's needs or contain information on how to support people to manage any conditions they had.

“Staff were not always provided with detailed guidance to follow when supporting people with complex needs.

“Medicines were not always managed safely as records did not contain information about risk or management of medicines.

“The provider had an auditing system which included auditing medicines; however, shortfalls found during inspection were not always picked up by these audits.

“When incidents or accidents occurred, it was not always clear these were investigated, and if any lessons were learnt.

“Staff recruitment checks including criminal checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service were carried out to ensure people were protected from being supported by unsuitable staff.”

Read more from this author

This story was written by Anna Colivicchi, she joined the team this year and covers health stories for the Oxfordshire papers. 

Get in touch with her by emailing: Anna.colivicchi@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @AnnaColivicchi