Provision at Sheffield home care service ‘inadequate’ says watchdog

A care service in Sheffield has been branded inadequate by a Government watchdog.
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A Care Quality Commission – CQC – inspection earlier this year found that See The Person, a Stocksbridge-based home care service which covers Sheffield and Barnsley, was not safe, effective, caring, responsive or well-led.

Of the five key questions posed by the CQC, the service was rated inadequate on three and requires improvement on two.

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Stock image (photo credit: John Stillwell/PA Wire).Stock image (photo credit: John Stillwell/PA Wire).
Stock image (photo credit: John Stillwell/PA Wire).
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In particular, on safety, the service was rated as inadequate, meaning people were not always safe and were at risk of avoidable harm, and record keeping issues meant people's medicine support plans lacked the detail necessary to allow safe administration.

The inspectors also found that people did not always feel well-supported, cared for or treated with dignity and respect, that their needs were not always met and that there were widespread and significant shortfalls in people's care, support and outcomes, and in service leadership.

The report stated: “The combination of inconsistent leadership and ineffective systems which measured the quality and safety of services provided put people at risk.”

See The Person is a subsidiary company of the South Yorkshire Housing Association and provides care to adults with a range of needs, including as dementia, sensory impairment, learning disability, mental health and physical disability.

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At the time of the inspection the service - which only began operation earlier this year - provided care for 19 people.

Despite the service’s shortcomings, inspectors said that people and their families were generally happy with the care they received and that staff were kind.

They added they believed See The Person’s management were committed to addressing the concerns and had already drawn up a plan of action.

Business growth manager, Kris Mackay, said: “See the Person took its first customer in January 2019, and has been operating exclusively in Barnsley.

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“Customers have consistently given positive feedback about our staff and the support they've received.

“We are disappointed with the CQC rating; however, the report is very clear that no harm has come to any of our customers.

“We have taken action to address the concerns raised as part of our commitment to high quality care for all our customers.”