HEALTHCARE inspectors have slammed a Percy Street homecare agency after it failed to meet four out of five Government standards this summer.

Care Quality Commission (CQC) representatives made an announced inspection of Purity Care at The Shaftesbury Centre on August 5.

Given the CQC’s amber label, Purity Care was found to require an overall improvement after missing targets in safety, effectiveness, responsiveness and leadership.

The agency was supporting 10 people living in the community when two inspectors began their assessments, but despite the prior warning, Purity Care was not up to scratch.

Five people’s care records were reviewed, along with three staff files and interviews with both the manager Rhonda Jones and two care staff.

Concerns in the report, published on Monday, have been raised over the inaccurate, outdated information being kept and a lack of quality monitoring.

“Some people's care records contained information that was inaccurate and out of date,” the report said.

“There were no systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and issues we found during the inspection had not been identified.

“There was no system to monitor missed or late visits.

“Medicines were not always managed safely and systems were not in line with the organisations medicines policy.”

Care staff were, however, praised for their caring attitude, with people also complimentary about the staff supporting them.

Mrs Jones was also praised for her caring nature and the supervision she gave to care staff.

“Care staff, who visited people in their homes, had a caring attitude and people were complimentary about care staff supporting them,” inspectors said.

“People were positive about the registered manager and her caring nature. Care staff received regular supervision and felt supported.”

Despite the support being offered to Purity’s staff, the CQC has made a number of recommendations as far as annual appraisals are concerned.

Appraisals are not something the care staff are currently given.

“Care staff told us the registered manager was responsive and approachable," the report said. "Care staff did not receive annual appraisals.

“We have made a recommendation relating to appraisals.

“The registered manager worked closely with health professionals. Ensuring people had access to appropriate health professionals when needed.”

Purity Care declined to comment about the inspection report.