Shrewsbury home care service is told to improve

Clarriots Care Shropshire and Telford, which is based at Battlefield, Shrewsbury, was inspected by the regulator on February 28 and has been pulled up on staffing issues.

A report issued by the Care Quality Commission found the service to be effective, caring and responsive to its clients, but said it needed improvement in safety and leadership which meant it fell short of an overall "good" rating.

The problems were caused by the fact there were not enough staff to do everything, the report says.

Read the full CQC report on Clarriots Care Shropshire and Telford here

The inspector said: "The provider had not taken steps to ensure that sufficient members of staff were employed to meet people's individual needs consistently and within reasonable time frames.

"The manager was working care shifts to cover sickness. Therefore they did not have time to undertake quality checks on the service provided.

"Observed practice checks were not regularly carried out to ensure people were receiving safe and effective care and support from staff members."

He said this also led to management issues such as quality monitoring checks on staff not being done.

He said: "The manager acknowledged that these were still to be done. They confirmed that they were currently prioritising the service's ability to maintain care calls. They stated that, once the staffing concerns had been addressed, then the quality checks would be commenced.

There were also rota problems, he said.

"One staff member told us, 'I get my rota and sometimes it is not correct. I was supposed to be in two places at once recently. I messaged the manager about the timing and it was sorted out.'"

But the service was otherwise performing well, the report goes on to say.

The inspector said: "People we spoke with felt that they were supported to be safe in their homes. One person said, 'The staff are very diligent. They are always checking things for me. They give me confidence in my own home.'

"They were supported by staff who had received training in and understood how to protect them from any harm and abuse. Systems were in place for staff to follow which protected people and kept them safe.

"People's right to make their own decisions about their own care and treatment was supported by staff. People were supported by staff who knew them well and were caring in their approach.

"People were treated with dignity and respect. They were encouraged to maintain their independence as much as they were able to," he said.