Care firm in special measures after alleged abuse

A home care firm has been placed in special measures after reports of clients being physically abused.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) said it inspected Pioneering Care Bicester in October after receiving concerns from whistle-blowers.

It found evidence of rough handling, unexplained bruising and staff shouting, although allegations were not always reported to authorities.

The Oxfordshire agency, whose previous rating of "good" has been downgraded to "inadequate", said it was rectifying the issues.

Roger James, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said: "We inspected Pioneering Care Bicester Limited in response to concerns around its management and these concerns were founded.

"We saw a deterioration in the quality of care being provided since our previous inspection and the service's poor leadership was putting people at risk of harm.

"Safeguarding concerns hadn't been reported to CQC or the local authority and the service had failed to recognise or act on allegations of abuse.

"We found several allegations of rough handling, staff shouting and unexplained bruising hadn't been acted upon to prevent them from happening again and to keep people safe."

The CQC also found instances of people going without their prescribed medicines, as well as inadequate staff training and reports of rushed care visits.

One client's catheter was frequently leaking but never fixed, inspectors said.

In another person's daily record, staff had recorded: "We checked pad and cleaned soiling but saved the pad."

The CQC report said: "Staff told us the registered manager was not a capable leader and lacked the experience to lead by example."

In a statement, Pioneering Care Bicester said: "We are aware of the report and concerns raised by CQC. We are working closely with CQC and the local authority to rectify these issues."

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