Care provider to challenge watchdog's report

A care provider looking after elderly people in their own homes says it will challenge a watchdog's report which judged it to require improvement.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected Caremark Redcar and Cleveland and although it judged its effectiveness, care and responsiveness as good, it said its safety and leadership required improvement - judging it as requiring improvement overall.

The operator supports about 400 people and is a contractor for Redcar and Cleveland Council.

Managing director Michelle Jackson said the company was challenging the result and was "extremely disappointed" with the outcome.

She added the service had scored highly when the council carried out its own quality inspection, reports the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The CQC said staff at Caremark Redcar and Cleveland needed to improve how they kept records.

Although it stressed no-one had been harmed, one example said records did not show where creams had been applied to clients, and there were also inconsistencies in the required timing of medicines.

Learning from incidents was not always implemented, the CQC added, with evidence of repeated medicine errors.

However, the report said staff rotas were well managed and recruitment was "robust", with thorough checks for new staff.

It also praised the "capable and compassionate management team".

The watchdog added that after the inspections it received a "detailed action plan addressing the shortfalls" identified, including "new audits and processes".

A spokesman for Caremark Redcar and Cleveland said the council's recent quality inspection scored it "very highly" and the company believed this to be "an accurate reflection" of their competence.

"We are, however, absolutely committed to working with the CQC and will ensure we rectify any shortcomings in our service that are appropriately identified by them," they added.

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