A CARE service in Ryedale has been rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the second year.

Ryedale Homecare, in Norton, has been judged as requiring improvements and in breach of regulations, says the watchdog.

The care service provides personal care to young adults and older people living in their own houses and flats who may be living with dementia, physical disabilities, or autism.

The CQC inspection was carried out in September, with inspectors visiting the location’s office on September 16.

When inspectors visited there were 19 people using the service and a registered manager in post.

Inspectors previously visited the service in December 2020 and said it required improvement and that there was a breach of regulation.

After the most recent visit, inspectors said this rating remained as ‘Requires Improvement’.

The CQC report said the service was not always safe or well-led, stating that improvements were required in these areas.

Inspectors found medical records were not up to date and raised concern that ‘people were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives’.

It said: “Medicines were not always managed safely.

“People told us they received their medicines when required, however, the Medication Administration Record (MAR) did not clearly evidence this.”

The report went on to state that some records had missing dates, allergies were not recorded and special instruction for the administration of some medicines were not recorded.

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Inspectors also said the service was not working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, which provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves.

They said: “Best interest decisions had been made however these were not decision specific and the records did not evidence who was involved in the decision making or reflect the persons understanding.”

The report also stated accidents and incidents had not been reported with the providers own policy. Inspectors added that there was a ‘clear management structure’ in place and staff understood their roles and responsibilities.

The report went on to state that people and relatives said they were happy with the care provided and the staff were kind and knew them well.

It also said the registered manager understood the regulatory requirements and their responsibilities to be open, honest and to apologise if things went wrong.

Going forward, the watchdog has requested an ‘action plan’ from the provider to understand what they will do to make improvements to the standard of quality and safety.

They added: “We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.”

Ryedale Homecare were approached by the Gazette and Herald but declined to comment on the CQC report.