A CARE service run by the council to support vulnerable members of the community has been ordered to take action by the care watchdog.

BCP Supported Living Service has been rated as requires improvement by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) following a recent inspection.

The domiciliary and supported living provider, which is run by BCP Council, was found to have been breaching regulations in relation to the governance and management oversight of the service.

CQC inspectors requested an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety.

A report published following the inspection said the visit took place to assess if the service was applying the statutory guidance principles of Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture as it supports people with learning disabilities and/or autism.

"The service was not able to demonstrate how they were meeting some of the underpinning principles of Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture," the report said.

"Improvements were needed to the governance systems within the service.

"The systems for monitoring and checking the service operates in a safe way were not effective. The service did not actively seek feedback in order to drive improvements within the service.

"There was no formal analysis of accidents and incidents within the service to ensure learning from events."

At the time of the inspection the service was providing personal care to 30 people in their own homes in Poole.

The inspectors said people's needs and rights were at the centre of the service, while staff were passionate about people and their place in the world.

Issues were identified over the service not being sure it was supporting people to be protected from avoidable infections as not all staff had received appropriate infection control training.

This included half of the staff team not being trained in infection control and only 12 out of 68 staff not receiving full training on how to put on and take of personal protective equipment (PPE) correctly to prevent the risk of infections.

The report said: "Staff did not always receive training to support them in their role.

"Staff knew people well, but essential training for health conditions such as epilepsy and diabetes had not been delivered and no alternatives to face to face learning were sought.

"We have made a recommendation about the management of staff training."

The service was rated as requires improvement over if it is safe, effective and well-led. It was rated as good for being caring and responsive.

A BCP Council spokeswoman said the service had already taken action to improve the governance arrangements and the local authority was confident that quality checks and staff training were being fully restored after the disruption caused by the pandemic.

Cllr Karen Rampton, portfolio holder for people and homes, said: “I am really pleased that the Care Quality Commission found that the people we care for at our supported living scheme are living safe and independent lives.

Bournemouth Echo: Cllr Karen RamptonCllr Karen Rampton (Image: BCP Council)

"We know that the pandemic has limited our ability to undertake as many quality checks and training courses for staff as we would have liked over the last two years, but we are now back on track with these activities and look forward to sharing our progress with the Care Quality Commission.”