Shrewsbury care agency rated as 'good' by inspectors

Veraty Care Solutions, which operates from St Mary's Court in Shrewsbury, was inspected in February and found to be in breach of a number of conditions of the Health and Social Care Act.

Inspectors from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it 'required improvement' and scheduled a return visit for earlier this autumn.

On their return, they found that the agency, which provides personal care and support to people in their own homes, had improved and made changes to its working practices.

Previously, inspectors had found that the provider had failed to follow safe recruitment procedures, failed to ensure good governance, and failed to notify the CQC of events that they are required to do so by law.

In their report inspectors said: "We found some improvements had been made, but further improvements were still required.

"The provider had failed to fully embed their quality assurance checks and had not identified all the shortfalls we had found during this inspection."

At the latest visit the agency was found to be good in all areas apart from being well led.

People and their relatives 'felt safe' with the support offered by staff, who were 'reliable and prompt', and felt their needs were respected and dealt with in the correct manner.

Staff felt they received adequate training and support and were aware of the needs of those they were caring for.

They were praised by inspectors for forming 'positive working relationships' with people and their relatives.

But the agency was found to require improvement in one area. Quality assurance processes were not fully 'embedded' and reviews of the service were not recorded every time.

The inspectors also criticised the agency for not displaying their rating from the previous visit conspicuously, as they are required to do by law.

But people and staff said the registered manager was caring and easy to talk to. There was a positive working culture and links with the local community were strong.

One staff member said: "We are like a family. We support each other."

Veraty Care Solutions declined to comment on the findings of the report when contacted by the Shropshire Star.