A care service for older people has been rated ‘requires improvement’ in its first inspection.
Radis Community Care (Oak Tree House), located in Tilehurst and operated by G P Homecare Limited, was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) between March 30 and April 23, with an onsite visit on March 30.
The CQC published its assessment report on May 21.
The extra care service provides home care and personal support to people aged 55 and over, enabling them to live independently in their own homes within the Oak Tree House sheltered housing scheme.
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At the time of inspection, 10 people were receiving regulated personal care from the service.
Inspectors found that while the service was rated ‘good’ in the areas of caring and responsiveness, it ‘requires improvement’ overall, as well as in the domains of safety, effectiveness, and leadership.
This was the service’s first inspection since registering with the CQC.
The CQC identified two breaches of legal regulations, relating to safe care and treatment and good governance.
Inspectors raised particular concerns about care plans, noting that they did not always provide clear or detailed enough guidance for staff to deliver person-centred care.
The report stated that information about people’s personal care preferences and instructions on supporting individuals with specific health conditions were sometimes missing from records.
It also highlighted inconsistencies in risk assessment procedures following incidents and found that medicines were not always managed safely.
Staff did not consistently have the necessary training to support people in line with their assessed needs.
The report said that the Mental Capacity Act 2005 was not applied reliably across the service.
Best interest decisions and and best interest meetings were not always recorded or carried out when needed.
However, the inspection found that daily records showed staff knew people well.
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Care was delivered by a stable team who knew service users well and treated them with kindness and respect.
Staff reported feeling supported in their roles and described the management team in positive terms.
The CQC has requested an action plan from the provider to address the areas of concern identified in the inspection.
Despite the shortcomings, feedback from people using the service and their families was generally positive.
Relatives said they were kept informed about care arrangements and described communication as generally effective.
Most people expressed satisfaction with the care provided, though some relatives questioned whether all staff had the necessary skills and understanding to meet their loved ones’ needs consistently.
Concerns were also raised about the quality of personal care and the timeliness of the management team’s responses to issues raised.
The CQC noted that there was no registered manager in place at the time of inspection.
A new manager was in the process of registering during the time of the inspection.
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