Essex care service placed in special measures after infectious risk uncovered
The Health Watchdog says they have uncovered significant failings at Grays-based Ronti Care Solutions
An Essex care service has been placed in special measures following concerning findings from health care inspections.
Ronti Care Solutions Ltd, a domiciliary care agency in Grays, was found to be breaching regulations in safe care and treatment, staffing, and governance, according to the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The inspections in April and May this year revealed inadequate infection prevention practices, with failures to prevent cross contamination among the key issues.
One person told inspectors:
“I’m getting frustrated with having to clean up after the carers.”
Another relative noted, “Some of these carers are just so lazy that they won’t even put the toilet seat up when they’re emptying out the commode.”
A significant safety concern was shared by a relative who said: “But care staff didn’t change the gloves when they went into the kitchen straight after. So, the care staff was making food and tea with contaminated gloves.”
Inspectors said these accounts “indicate that staff were not consistently applying safe personal protective equipment protocols or maintaining hygienic practices, directly increasing the risk of cross-contamination and infectious spread within people’s homes”.
A statement from the CQC highlighted multiple issues: “Risk management arrangements fell short of ensuring safety and lacked the robustness needed to fully protect people from harm. Systems to assess, plan for and mitigate individual health needs were inconsistent, ineffective and occasionally missing altogether. Consequently, those experiencing declining health did not always have their changing needs recognised or managed safely, which ultimately exposed them to a significant risk of avoidable harm."
Further, they noted: “Gaps in training, clinical knowledge and competence meant that care staff were not always fully prepared to support people safely and appropriately. Because of these gaps, the service could not provide sufficient assurance that its workforce received adequate training or possessed the necessary skills to manage care safely."
Ronti Care Solutions has been approached for comment.