Bedford care agency put in special measures after whistleblowers' concerns

The CQC inspected Aamevol Home Care Ltd in January after concerns over management were raised by whistleblowers – and says it has now taken steps to protect people.

Aamevol Home Care Ltd, run by a provider with the same name, provides personal care to people in their own homes. At the time of this inspection, four people were receiving care.

The overall rating for the service, as well as the areas of safe and well-led, have dropped from good to inadequate. The ratings for neing effective, caring and responsive have declined from good to requires improvement.

And CQC has served three warning notices to Aamevol Home Care Ltd to focus its attention on making sure people using the service receive safe care and treatment that reflects their needs and preferences, improving staffing issues, and improving their management of the service. 

The agency said it acknowledges the inspection findings and wanted to assure the community of its “unwavering commitment to providing safe, high-quality care to all our clients”.

The special measures mean Aamevol will be kept under close review by CQC to keep people safe and it will be monitored to check sufficient improvements have been made.

The full report is due to be uploaded to the CQC website in the coming days and will be available to read here.

Stuart Dunn, CQC deputy director of operations in the East of England, said: “It was concerning to see such a significant deterioration in the quality of care being provided. Leaders need to prioritise making the necessary improvements, particularly regarding how people’s needs are being met appropriately and safely.

“Leaders also need to ensure they have more oversight of the service and take appropriate action when things go wrong, so they can identify areas of learning and improvement to help protect people from harm.

“Our inspection team found the service didn’t always thoroughly assess people’s care needs and potential risks to ensure they were being cared for safely. This resulted in some care plans lacking guidance for staff on how to meet people’s individual needs and support their independence.

“There weren’t always the right number of staff scheduled to care for people, and some staff hadn’t received the necessary recruitment checks or supervision to ensure they had the skills to care for people safely.”

But there was some praise for the agency. The inspection found people and their relatives felt staff respected their homes, and the agency kept the environment clean and reduced risks such as trip hazards.

Mr Dunn added: “We heard positive feedback from people and their relatives about the service. They found it reassuring that they were receiving care from the same staff who knew them well and took the time to listen.

“We have told Aamevol Home Care Ltd where improvements are urgently needed and will keep the service under close review to monitor their progress. We won’t hesitate to use our regulatory powers further if this doesn’t happen.” 

Inspectors also found:

> Records for staff were not all up to date and accurate.

> Some people’s visits had taken place at different times to those planned. Leaders told CQC that people had requested this, but this wasn’t recorded.

> Leaders lacked oversight of the medicines people needed or whether staff had the training to administer them safely.

> It was unclear how staff worked together with other health and care professionals to promote good outcomes for people.

> People weren’t always given information in accessible formats.

> Staff didn’t have a good understanding of safeguarding to keep people safe, and leaders weren’t consistently monitoring incidents.

Sanjiv Melvin, director and registered manager at Aamevol Home Care Ltd, said: "Following the CQC inspection in January, we immediately implemented a comprehensive action plan addressing all areas identified for improvement. This detailed plan was promptly shared with both the CQC and local council authorities.

"New audit procedures, spot checks, and enhanced supervision measures are now firmly in place. We've also completed additional staff training, with particular focus on safeguarding, medication management, and person-centred care planning, and improved our record-keeping systems to ensure all care plans are thorough and reflect individual needs." A statement from the agency added: “The management team welcomes the upcoming CQC follow-up visit and is confident that it will reflect the significant improvements already implemented. We view this experience as an opportunity for growth as we establish our presence in Bedford and beyond. “Aamevol Home Care Ltd is grateful for the continued support of our clients and communities. We look forward to demonstrating our commitment to excellence in everything we do.”