Nomase Care Ltd in Chadwell Heath rated ‘inadequate’ by CQC

Nomase Care Ltd’s Chadwell Heath branch was given the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) worst grading in a report published on Wednesday (June 28).

It was inspected late last year (December 12) and was rated ‘inadequate’ in categories safe and well-led, as well as ‘requires improvement’ in effective, care and response.

People were at risk of harm, according to the 2023 report, which said Nomase Care had failed to manage and administer medicines safely.

“We also found the systems in place to protect people from harm and abuse were not robust,” the report said.

People also had to wait far longer than expected for appointments, inspectors found, and one person said they had been waiting two months for an assessment to devise a care plan.

“So, [we have had] no care plan and we have to tell the carers what needs to be done,” a relative said in the report.

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“The most infuriating thing is that they, the carers or Nomase don’t let me know if and when the carers are going to be late,” another person added.

“The morning visit is for 45 minutes and some carers stay this time some don’t, they cut corners.”

CQC also found assessments were not in place for people at risk of falls, dehydration, depression and skin integrity.

It said medicine administration charts (MAR) showed gaps on six people’s charts, with no information on why these medicines were not administered.

This meant there was a risk of these medicines not being given, placing people at risk of harm, it said.

But staff were praised for taking measures to prevent and control infection, namely by wearing personal protective equipment.

People being cared for and relatives also told CQC that staff were caring and the report found people were protected from discrimination.

However, CQC found numerous discrepancies in medicine records.

Dosage and frequency on some risk assessments did not match the information on people’s MAR charts, inspectors wrote.

This created a risk that people may not be given medicines safely, the report said.

At the time of inspection, Nomase Care in Chadwell Heath was supporting 56 people.

The last rating for this service was ‘requires improvement’ in 2022, when five regulatory breaches were found.

These were in the areas of person-centred care, need for consent, safe care and treatment, staffing and good governance.

At the 2023 inspection, the provider continued to be in breach in all of these regulations except for consent.

The service is in special measures and continues to be under review.

Nomase Care declined to comment.