Colchester care service told clients not to complain - inspectors

Health inspectors have downgraded a care service and placed it in special measures after finding it urged people not to complain about the service.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) dropped the rating for Golden Hands Home Care, in Colchester, from requires improvement in 2019 to inadequate.

The company provides care for people living in their own homes with physical disabilities or sensory impairments.

It said it was "not true at all" that it had urged people not to complain.

At the time of inspection in June, Golden Hands was providing care for 29 people.

As well as its overall rating dropping, its grading for how responsive and well-led it was, was also downgraded to inadequate, and it was given a requires improvement rating for safety, effectiveness and caring.

Inspectors found where safeguarding incidents had occurred and people did not always feel well supported.

"One person said they were not allowed to talk to anybody about the incident and were made to feel like a criminal," the report said.

Many of the staff at the service were related or had personal relationships and there was no robust policy in place to safeguard people and staff from potential conflict of interests, or the formation of a closed culture arising from this practice, the report said.

The company director was found to not be aware of a change in the law requiring staff to receive mandatory training on supporting autistic people or people with a learning disability.

Not all staff had received specific training in this area, despite the service being registered to provide this specialist support.

"However, most people told us they felt safe, as the care workers were friendly and pleasant, but felt the company had too many clients and not enough staff," the CQC said.

Hazel Roberts, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said: "We were very disappointed to find a service that wasn't responsive to people's needs, carrying out care in a way that was convenient for staff and not for the people using the service.

Bien Causapin, registered manager of Golden Hands Home Care. said in a statement: "Regarding the claims we tell people not to talk about safeguarding incidents, is not true at all."

Mr Causapin said on occasion, complaints had been made about agency workers used but the firm "took action straightaway" not to send them back to unhappy clients.

"I can assure the CQC that the service users environment and care is not poor at all."

He added the company would make the improvements required by the CQC.

The CQC said it would continue to monitor the service which has six months to improve.

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