AN Alton care provider has been placed in special measures after inspectors deemed the service “inadequate”.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) gave Apex Prime Care in Alton the lowest overall grading following its November inspection.

Both the safety and leadership categories were deemed “inadequate”, with questions of whether the service is caring, effective and responsive all “requiring improvement”.

Apex, which provides personal care to people living in their own homes, catering for elderly, disabled adults and people living with dementia, will be closely monitored as a result of the grading.

Although the CQC criticised staff turbulence and a lack of management, comments regarding safety were the most damning.

“There were insufficient numbers of suitable staff to keep people safe and to meet their needs,” inspectors said. “People reported they had experienced late and missed calls and inconsistency in staffing.

“Staff had worked excessive hours to provide people’s care but the sudden departures of care staff at the end of October and November 2018 had precipitated a staffing crisis. On the morning of the inspection the service had to arrange to hand back 25 people’s care packages to commissioners, to ensure people’s safety. The provider had failed to ensure full pre-employment checks had been completed for all staff and that staff had the skills required for their role.”

The CQC also noted that “people’s medicines were not managed safely” and records of medicines “were not sufficiently robust to ensure peoples’ safety”, adding: “Risks to people had not always been identified, assessed or addressed within their care plans for people’s safety. There were not fully effective systems to protect people from the potential risk of financial abuse.

“The provider did not have an electronic system in place to monitor when and if people received their care.”

Previously, Alton’s branch of Apex was rated “good” in all areas. This no doubt contributed to last year’s deal with Hampshire County Council, which saw the authority and the agency join forces on a seven-year contract.

Announcing the collaboration just weeks before the latest CQC inspection, the council said the partnership would “meet the rising demand for support by increasing the range of providers” and was “part of the authority’s multi-million pound investment in support at home services”.

In its report, the CQC was especially critical of the service’s management, with concerns raised about members of staff and their qualifications.

“Staff had not all had the opportunity to update their training to ensure it remained current,” inspectors explained. “One staff member was still rostered to provide people’s care although some of their training had expired in 2015. Staff had not all received supervision at all this year, which put people at risk of receiving ineffective or unsafe care.”

Those using the service also “did not consistently receive person-centred care that fully reflected their needs and preferences”.

There was too “a lack of written information” on “who was receiving end-of-life care”.

Issues of law with regard to the organisation’s accountability were also raised.

“There was no registered manager in post as legally required and leadership of the service was poor,” inspectors added. “Staff had been running the service on a day-to-day basis and they were not fully skilled and competent to manage the challenges that have arisen.

“There was a poor working culture where staff worked excessive hours and did not seek help as required to ensure people’s safety.”

Now in special measures, the service will be “kept under review” and, if the CQC “have not taken immediate action to propose to cancel the provider’s registration of the service”, will be inspected again within six months.

The Alton Herald reached out to senior staff at Apex Prime Care but they declined to comment on the report.