Broomfield Care was rated Good overall following its January–February 2016 inspection, with staff, management and care delivery praised by people using the service and their relatives. A breach of Regulation 19 was found due to inadequate pre-employment checks on four staff members, leaving people at risk of being cared for by unsuitable individuals.
Concerns (2)
critical
Staffing levels
: “Four members of staff had been employed without checks on their conduct during all of their previous employment or verification of their reasons for leaving previous employment”
minorRecord keeping: “Information about where to refer a complaint if a complainant was not satisfied with the response from the agency was not accurate.”
Strengths
· People were happy with their care and the approach and effectiveness of staff
· Staff had the knowledge and understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures
· People's medicines were managed safely with audits of medicine administration charts
· Staff received training including induction covering first 24 weeks, regular supervision, spot checks and annual appraisals
· Staff were aware of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and consent was consistently sought
Broomfield Care Ltd is a domiciliary care agency rated Good overall at its September 2018 inspection, with an Outstanding rating for caring reflecting exceptional compassion, creativity, and advocacy in supporting people's independence. No regulatory breaches or significant concerns were identified.
Strengths
· Staff empowered to work confidently with health professionals to prevent unnecessary hospital admissions and support complex needs at home.
· Outstanding compassionate care with staff going the extra mile to promote independence and enable people to remain living at home.
· Robust safeguarding knowledge and whistleblowing awareness among staff and management.
· Safe medicines management with audits, staff training, and competency checks in place.
· Proactive contingency planning for severe weather, prioritising visits by level of need.
This focused follow-up inspection found that Broomfield Care Ltd had successfully remediated a prior breach of Regulation 19 relating to unsafe staff recruitment practices. Robust recruitment procedures were now in place, protecting people from the risk of being cared for by unsuitable staff.
Concerns (1)
criticalStaff competency: “Four members of staff had been employed without checks on their conduct during all of their previous employment or verification of their reasons for leaving previous employment which involved caring for vulnerable adults.”
Strengths
· Provider followed their action plan and improved staff recruitment procedures including amendments to the application form and a system for matching references against employment history.
· Disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks had been carried out for all staff.
· Employment gaps were identified and discussed with applicants; identity and health checks undertaken before staff started work.
· The system for matching references against employment history was particularly effective where applicants had several previous posts working with vulnerable adults or children.