Care firm placed into special measures by watchdog

A care service for people with learning difficulties has been put into special measures after it was rated inadequate by the industry watchdog.

Bkind Care Ltd in Leeds was inspected by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 21 and 25 November when it found that information which could assist with life-saving treatment was not recorded properly.

CQC said the inspection was carried out following concerns raised by service users and their families. It said some processes "led to people being placed at risk of unsafe care".

BKind Care Ltd has been contacted for comment.

The company provides domiciliary support to people living in their own homes across Leeds, including autistic people and people with a learning disability.

Being placed in special measures means it will be kept under close review by the CQC and monitored to check sufficient improvements have been made.

The watchdog also issued warning notices for the service to focus their attention on making significant improvements around consent, safe care and treatment, and how they were managing the service.

The CQC's Linda Hirst said: "This service looks after people who rely on staff for their basic care needs and leaders must make the necessary improvements to ensure people can receive the level of care they deserve.

"Staff didn't record important information about people's support and wishes in their care plans.

"One person's choice whether they wanted to have CPR wasn't filled in, which could delay life-saving treatment."

She said that some staff had not been trained in how to care for autistic people and people with a learning disability.

Ms Hirst added: "This could place people at risk of inappropriate or unsafe care as staff don't have the necessary skills to provide care to people with those needs."

She said although there were some positives, staff were "let down by poor care planning and not understanding the needs of people as well as they should".

"We will return to check on their progress and won't hesitate to use our regulatory powers further if people aren't receiving the care they have a right to expect," Ms Hirst added.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.