Aspire Care Services Ltd was rated Requires Improvement overall following a focused November 2022 inspection, with Safe downgraded to Inadequate due to regulatory breaches in medicines management (Regulation 12) and good governance (Regulation 17). Key failures included inaccurate MARs, inadequate risk assessments, persistent misuse of electronic call monitoring, and inaccessible records, though safeguarding practice, infection control and staff conduct were positively noted.
Concerns (7)
criticalMedication management: “MARs were not clear on when people needed their medicines... the time of the medicine's administration was not recorded so it was unclear whether the person had received them on time.”
criticalCare planning: “One person's care record stated that they had been referred to the service following hospital admission for frequent falls. Their person-centred risk assessment then stated they were at low risk of falls.”
criticalGovernance: “audits failed to highlight the services Electronic Call Monitoring (ECM) systems had recorded numerous late visits, with no evidence of action being taken in response.”
moderateMissed or late visits: “of the 274 calls carried out, 78 were outside of the 15-minute leeway set by the funding authority. 30 of these calls showed staff were over an hour late.”
moderateRecord keeping: “Records were not easily accessible... office staff had limited access to these records. For example, original medicines administration records, some care plans and areas of the ECM system.”
moderateIncident learning: “The provider had failed to identify some of the issues identified during this inspection.”
minorPerson-centred care: “Four people we spoke with told us the service did not contact them to seek their views or request they complete a survey.”
Strengths
· Staff received safeguarding training and knew how to identify, respond to and escalate suspected abuse.
· Robust pre-employment checks including DBS, photographic identification and proof of address.
· Staff had access to PPE and infection prevention and control measures were in place.
· Service worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
· People and staff spoke positively about the registered manager, describing her as supportive, available and helpful.
Quality-Statement breakdown (11)
safe: Staffing and recruitmentRequires improvement
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementInadequate
safe: Using medicines safelyInadequate
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongRequires improvement
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
well-led: Managers and staff being clear about their roles, quality performance, risks and regulatory requirementsRequires improvement
well-led: Continuous learning and improving careRequires improvement
well-led: Working in partnership with othersRequires improvement
well-led: Engaging and involving people using the service, the public and staffRequires improvement
well-led: Promoting a positive culture that is person-centred, open, inclusive and empoweringGood