A homecare agency's first inspection since registering found that “people’s care was not always provided safely”.

Heart of Gold Homecare, based on Glen Avenue in Bolton, was inspected by regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), in March and April and it was rated as "requires improvement".

The service is a domiciliary care agency which provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

In the inspection, it scored "requires improvement" for safety, whether the service was effective, and whether it was well-led.

But it was ranked as "good" for the service’s care, and its responsiveness.

The CQC report found that “people generally received support in line with their assessed needs”, but it noted that medicines were “not always managed safely”.

It said: “People's care was not always provided safely.

“Medicines were not always managed safely, people's medication administration records were not always completed correctly, timings of calls did not always allow for sufficient time between the administration of people's medication and paperwork relating to the application of creams and the use of thickening agents had not always been completed.”

The report also found that staff “did not always receive training in key areas before commencing employment”.

It read: “The provider evidenced oversight of staff's compliance with training, but they had not always ensured courses were completed in a timely manner.

“The providers recruitment systems required further development, staff recruitment records were incomplete, when the provider had not been able to obtain previous employment references, they had not completed risk assessments to ensure the suitability of candidates to work with vulnerable adults and children.

“However, we did not evidence any impact and people were happy with the support they received.”

The inspection said that while people generally received support in line with their assessed needs, some care plans required “additional detail”.

But some positives were noted. 

The report said: “Assessments of people's needs provided staff with guidance, however, some care plans would benefit from additional detail to improve the level of person-centred information for staff to follow.

“People's choices were promoted by staff who had a good understanding of how to promote people's independence. Support was in place to enable people to access the community.

“Staff supported people to achieve their goals, take part in chosen activities and pursue interests.”

The report stated that "people and relatives were happy with the care and support provided".

Heart of Gold Homecare has been contacted for a comment about the inspection.

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