A home care provider has been found to ‘require improvement’ following its latest inspection by the health watchdog.

FCNA Homecare was inspected on two occasions on April 26 and May 17.

The report states that the service required improvement for safety, effectiveness, and when it came to the service’s response.

The service was also rated as inadequate for being well-led, but a spokesperson for the service says that the main challenge has been staffing numbers.

However, the service received a good rating for their care.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) report said: “People and relatives felt care was provided safely.

"However, people's risk assessments required development to ensure staff were provided with detailed guidance on how to manage risks associated with the provision of people's care.

“Relatives praised staff for the care provided to people and stated people were supported by staff who understand their needs well.

"Staff feedback demonstrated they knew how to support people while protecting their dignity and privacy and promoting their independence.

“Staff understood how to provide person centred care.”

The report also found that recruitment checks had not always been carried out, but at the time of inspection the registered manager had started to address this.

The report said that people's references had not been obtained and recruitment records were not always present in staffs files.

The inspection states that the administration of people's medication was carried out safely but that in some instances people's medication records had not been completed correctly.

It reads: “The registered manager provided evidence staff had completed refresher training relating to the management and administration of people's medicines.

“We have made a recommendation the provider reviews people's risk assessments.

“Staff's training and induction programme had been reviewed by the registered manager however, there were gaps in staffs training.

“People's dietary needs and preferences were recorded in their care plans; however, where some people required a 'soft' diet the consistencies of their food and fluids had not been recorded.”

A spokesperson for the provider said: “One of the challenges has been staffing and not having enough staff available, which meant the manager had to step up and care.

“It took the manager away from doing other jobs.

“We got overall good for care, which is a priority.

“We also changed ownership last year and there hasn’t been enough time for the manager to be effective in the job role.

“We also don’t have the funding available to get agency staff.

“So, all of this has caused an impact on what we should be doing in terms of completing additional admin tasks.

“We know where it fell short, and we are working our way back because care was fine and was reflected in the report.”

The provider says that they have made a number of changes including a new induction programme which includes a week of training and relevant work checks.

The manager will also be changing roles so he can focus on compliance checks so staff can continue to provide care.

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