Archived: SCA Care (Poole and surrounding areas)

We talked to six people who received a service from SCA Care, and seven relatives of people supported by SCA Care. We spoke to the manager, three locality managers and seven care workers. We also received information from the provider and the local authority.

We found the agency was generally polite and respectful when communicating with individuals or their families.

People did not experience care or support that met their needs and protected their rights because people's care or support was not always delivered in line with their individual care plan.

We found that people were not protected from the risks of inadequate nutrition and dehydration because the provider did not ensure people were always supported to be able to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs.

People were not protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider did not have appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines.

During the inspection we visited six individuals who received support or care from SCA in their own homes. We also spoke with five relatives of people supported by the domiciliary care agency.

We did not visit the office during this inspection, as this had been undertaken in November 2012. However, we did receive information from a healthcare professional and we spoke with four care workers during the inspection.

People we spoke with told us their views were not always listened to or acted upon, and that they were not generally consulted in relation to any changes to their agreed care or support.

We found that people were not always supported to be able to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs.

We found that appropriate arrangements were not in place in relation to the recording of medicine. We also found medicines were not safely administered.

There were systems in place to assess and monitor the quality and safety of the service provided by SCA Care, although these were not effective. However, two of the six people we spoke with told us they had experienced some improvements in the provision of their care since our inspection in November 2012.

We spoke with four people who receive a service from SCA and two relatives. We also spoke with eight members of staff, including an area manager who was addressing some of the care issues SCA were experiencing at the time of the inspection. A care worker said to us 'SCA had a really good name and a really good reputation. It is painful so see their current issues'. An individual who received support from the agency said 'it's been horrendous', and another person said 'I have complained but they don't listen'.

We looked at five care plans and a range of other records.

During this inspection we identified serious shortfalls in care planning and the delivery of support to people. As a result of the inspection we needed to share four vulnerable adult concerns with the local social services department.