Disability care service put in special measures after critical report
A service that cares for people living with a disabilities has been rated inadequate and placed in special measures by inspectors.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the West Bromwich-based Sandwell Community Caring Trust, run by a charity, in June.
Concerns were raised that the service was not always obtaining people's consent for care and treatment, which is required by law – and the inspection substantiated these concerns.
Following the inspection, Sandwell Community Caring Trust was rated inadequate overall and for being effective and well-led. It was rated as requires improvement for being safe. The service had previously been rated as good overall.
The CQC also placed the service into special measures – which will see it inspected again within six months. If fundamental improvements have not been made by the time of the next inspection, CQC will take further enforcement action to ensure people are not exposed to a service which does not meet standards they have a right to expect.
However, a spokesman for the Sandwell Community Caring Trust said the organisation was left "devastated by the findings" in the report – adding that areas where they received the "fiercest criticism" they had been commended for in a previous report. The spokesman added that they were taking urgent steps to address concerns raised in the report with an action plan in place.
The inspection found the trust made decision about people's care without involving them and where it had no legal authority to do so – including administering their medicines covertly and using surveillance equipment, which did not follow the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA). The report stated that the situation had developed because the service's senior leaders had not ensured staff received the right training. Leaders had also not taken all reasonable steps to ensure national guidelines were followed.
Inspectors also found the service had not mitigated all restrictions affecting people that it could address. This included failing to explore all options to ensure people could move freely around their homes.
