Updated 25 September 2024
Date of assessment 9 October 2024 – 28 October 2024 Pioneering Care Bicester Ltd is a domiciliary care agency providing care to people in their own homes. The service provides support to people with dementia, physical disabilities, mental health, younger people and older people. At the time of our assessment the service was providing the regulated activity personal care to 32 people. The assessment was carried out in response to concerns about the service. At this assessment we found breaches of regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, person-centred care, safeguarding service users from abuse, staffing, fit and proper persons employed, good governance and failure to notify us of incidents. The service is used by autistic people or people with a learning disability but is not registered as a specialist service. We assessed against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ and found shortfalls in the support people received. People were not safeguarded. Risks to them were not identified and mitigated. Safe medicine practices and person-centred care was not promoted. Staff were not suitably trained and safe recruitment practices were not followed. People's records were contradictory and governance systems were not effective in identifying or addressing areas for improvement. The service failed to notify us of incidents which did not promote an open and transparent culture. In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded. The service is being placed in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide.