Care agency failed to report '12 abuse incidents'

A home care agency which did not report "12 abuse incidents" has been placed into special measures.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said Innovative Start Ltd, in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, failed to improve since a previous inspection and was rated Inadequate.

The previous assessment identified four breaches of legal regulations related to safeguarding, safe care and treatment, management and oversight, and notifying CQC of incidents.

Between December 2024 and January 2025, inspectors found that none of these issues had been addressed, and 12 abuse incidents had gone unreported to the regulator.

Innovative Start Ltd said it was "deeply disappointed "with the outcome of the inspection.

The report also identified two new breaches in relation to staffing and recruitment.

However, service users told investigators they had been treated well and felt safe with staff, and the quality of care was positive.

It received a Good rating for being effective and a Good rating for being caring, despite the overall Inadequate classification.

However, the service was criticised in the report for poor record-keeping and failing to provide clear instructions.

One care plan instructed staff to use "proper lifting techniques" without explanation on what the techniques were.

On another occasion, a person sustained burns, which the report claimed could have been avoided with appropriate measures in place, though this has since been addressed.

The service was also criticised for a lack of supervision and spot checks on staff - one member of staff recruited in November 2023 has only been supervised once, and that was in December 2024.

Another member of staff, in place since August 2024, had not had all the required safe recruitment checks.

Users of the service spoke positively of staff to inspectors, but some raised concerns about the length and punctuality of visits.

A member of staff told the CQC there was a culture within management that made it difficult to raise and resolve issues.

They said: "Speaking up is not a norm as many have faced victimisation from the management. The management is very rude and controlling, making it difficult to speak up."

A spokesperson for Innovative Start Ltd said: "We feel it [the report] does not fully reflect the experiences of many of our service users and their families. We would encourage people to consider the positive feedback we have consistently received from those who use our service.

"Following the inspection, we have already developed and begun to implement a robust improvement plan. This includes reporting all our safeguarding concerns to CQC, bringing in external advice, and delivering further training to ensure high standards of care across the board."

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