A care service looking after adults, some of whom have autism and learning disabilities, has been placed in special measures after inspectors declared it inadequate.

Issues with medicine records, staff training, a lack of detail in some care plans and how the firm managed changes in people’s care needs were among the problems identified with Initial Care Services South East Limited.

The company, based in Marshall Road, Gillingham, offers personal care to people in their own homes in Medway and surrounding Kent areas.

But after a visit by the Care Quality Commission in late September the provider has seen its overall rating - and the areas of ‘safe’ and ‘well led’ - decline from good to inadequate and the areas of ‘responsive’, ‘caring’ and ‘effective’ also decline from good to requires improvement.

The firm says it doesn’t agree with some findings in the report.

But the downgrading means restrictions are now in place on the number of people Initial Care Services South East can look after until things improve.

Leaders must also now report back monthly to the health and social care watchdog as it implements new action plans.

Serena Coleman, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, explained: “When we inspected Initial Care Services South East Limited, we were concerned to find leaders weren’t managing the service well, causing safety issues which put people at risk of harm.

“Leaders weren’t providing staff with essential induction training like first aid and managing medicines, needed to keep people safe, or able to prove how they were supporting staff to keep those skills up beyond induction.

“Medicine records were unclear. The registered manager told us nobody using the service had support with medicines and they weren’t mentioned in people’s care plans, but we found people had been prescribed medicines.”

Inspectors found that while feedback from clients and their relatives was positive and people were ‘generally happy’ with the care and support received, it was felt the company’s work did not always meet expected standards.

Five breaches of legal regulations were identified, explains the report, in relation to safeguarding, safe care and treatment, staffing, need for consent and good governance.

Environmental risks, it explains, were not always managed safely with no record of spot checks or robust risk assessments of people’s homes to ensure staff could deliver safe care.

And staff lacked guidance on how to mitigate risks and respond to emergencies in people’s homes.

Inspectors also found the service didn’t work collaboratively with external partners - such as local councils - although it communicated well with people’s families when planning care.

The CQC says it will remain closely in touch with the firm until targets are met.

Serena Coleman added: “We restricted admissions to Initial Care Services South East Limited following the inspection and imposed conditions on the service in order to focus their attention on improving care for their existing clients before taking on anybody new.

“They are also in special measures and we will closely monitor the service to ensure that improvements are made and people are safe.

“We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to take further action if people are not receiving the care they have a right to expect.”

In response, Initial Care Services South East says it does dispute some of the inspection's findings and the report summary.

It says carers have undertaken training for both first aid and medication online - an approach adopted since the pandemic - which it has since replaced with physical training since the inspection and shared those updated certificates with the CQC.

The firm adds that it has been co-operating fully with the regulatory body since its visit last year, submitting all documents requested, but it acknowledges, like any other organisation, that there is always room for improvement.

In a statement it added: "Initial care service South East limited take the safety of our service users to heart and are always on the ground to support both the service users and carers, whenever we feel the extra support is needed as confirmed by both the family and carers interviewed during the inspection and we will continue to do the best for our service users."