London Care (Basildon) was rated Good overall following a focused inspection of Safe and Well-Led, with Safe remaining Good due to effective safeguarding, medicines management, recruitment and infection control. Well-Led declined to Requires Improvement driven by a poor staff culture in which the majority of staff felt unsupported, unheard and that communication from the senior team was inadequate.
Concerns (4)
moderateLeadership: “the majority of staff told us they felt unsupported, communication was poor and any issues or concerns they raised either with the office staff or management team were either not responded to or not followed up.”
moderateGovernance: “no assurance was provided as to what action would be taken in the interim period by the registered manager, in recognition of staff unease and the potential impact it may have on the people”
moderateCare planning: “People who received catheter care, or who were prescribed blood thinning medicines we found to have no risk assessments in place and minimal guidance for staff to follow.”
minorCommunication with families: “staff did not always feel engaged or empowered and felt there was a lack of consistency in how well the service was managed and led.”
Strengths
· Staff were trained in medicine administration and people confirmed they received medicines correctly and on time.
· Robust safeguarding systems in place; staff could identify and report abuse concerns confidently.
· Effective electronic call monitoring system with 99% of calls correctly logged, minimising missed or late visits.
· Safe recruitment processes including DBS checks and references consistently applied.
· Adequate PPE supply and effective infection control practices confirmed by staff and people using the service.
Quality-Statement breakdown (10)
safe: Assessing risk, safety monitoring and managementGood
safe: Systems and processes to safeguard people from the risk of abuseGood
safe: Staffing and recruitmentGood
safe: Using medicines safelyGood
safe: Preventing and controlling infectionGood
safe: Learning lessons when things go wrongGood
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 empoweringRequires improvement
well-led: How the provider understands and acts on the duty of candourGood
well-led: Continuous learning and improving care; Working in partnership with othersGood