A HOME care agency operating in Hampshire has today been warned that it is failing to protect the safety and welfare of people it looks after.

Watchdogs at the Care Quality Commission say they want to see “urgent improvements” at Absolute Healthcare Providers which offers personal and nursing care support to people living in their own homes. The service operates from an office in Four Marks.

Inspectors at the commission say the company lacks systems to indentify, monitor and manage risks to its clients; that its recruitment means some people are not able to do their jobs properly before starting work and that staff do not always receive adequate training.

The commission, which is the official watchdog for hospital and home care in England, visited the service on January 3.

In a summary of its findings it says that although come clients praised the care they received and their carers, the inspection found “the majority of employment records, for staff who were providing care and support to people, did not contain the appropriate employment checks. This meant that the provider could not demonstrate that they were safeguarding people receiving a service.”

It says not all staff had received training in safeguarding children and adults.

And it says training in a number of areas including moving-and-handling and medication was inadequate for some staff.

Ian Biggs, deputy director of the Care Quality Commission in the South, warned that the CQC would be making another unannounced inspection in the near future. He said: “If we find that the agency is not making the required progress we won’t hesitate to use our legal powers further to protect the people who use its services.”

He added: “We check the national standards of quality and safety in care that the law says everyone should be able to expect.”