INSPECTORS have said that improvements are required at a Ryedale care service after its first inspection.

Your Ryedale Care, based in Wombleton, has been given the overall rating of ‘Requires Improvement,' by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The service was launched in April 2021 and is a domiciliary care agency, providing personal care to people living in their own homes.

Inspectors from the watchdog carried out inspection activity from November 1, 2022, to December 5, 2022, and visited the service’s office on November 30.

At the time of inspection there were two members of staff employed and six people using the service.

Inspectors deemed the service to be ‘Safe,’ awarding the rating of ‘Good’ in this area – meaning people in the care were safe and protected from avoidable harm.

Staff were found to have access to a safeguarding policy and understood how to recognise signs of abuse and what to do to protect people from harm.

The watchdog was satisfied with the administering and recording of medicines and said PPE was being used effectively and safely.

They found the provider to be ‘Caring,’ awarding the rating of Good – meaning people are treated with compassion, kindness, dignity, and respect.

The provider was also rated Good for the ‘Responsive’ category - meaning people's needs were met through good organisation and delivery.

In their report, inspectors highlighted personalised care on offer “to ensure people have choice and control and to meet their needs and preferences.”

Inspectors, however, said improvements were required in the ‘Effective’ and ‘Well-led’ categories.

They said the effectiveness of people's care, treatment and support did not always achieve good outcomes or was inconsistent.

“Staff told us they felt supported in their role and due to the size of the team enjoyed good informal support from the registered manager,” the report read.

“However, the registered manager did not consistently ensure staff received formal recorded supervision and appraisals in line with their own policy.”

Inspectors explained how staff completed a “basic” induction to their role, including recorded shadow shifts observed by the registered manager.

They added: “Staff had access to a range of training deemed mandatory. However, oversight failed to ensure all required training both at induction and to refresh skills was completed in a timely manner.”

The CQC recommended the registered manager to review policies around support, training and induction and implement appropriate associated processes – with new processes now said to have been implemented.

In the ‘Well-led’ category, the service management and leadership was found to be inconsistent.

“Systems and processes were not regularly reviewed and failed to always ensure the required improvements we identified, were implemented in a timely way,” inspectors said.

They recommend the provider reviews their quality assurance policy to ensure required audits and checks remain robust and effective.

Caroline Shepherd, director of Your Ryedale Care, said: “I am happy with the report, and we are working closely with CQC to address the concerns.”

The report can be read in full here.

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