Because We Care Northampton

“This inspection was carried out to check whether the provider had made the required significant improvements identified at the last inspection.”

“Improvements were not found at this assessment, and the provider remained in breach of legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment, safeguarding, staff recruitment, medicines management, consent and governance.”

“People and their relatives spoke positively about the kindness and attentiveness of the provider and staff. However, there continued to be widespread and significant shortfalls in leadership, governance, and the delivery of safe, effective care.”

“People continued to experience avoidable risks due to ineffective incident oversight, poor risk management, and unsafe medicines practices, including missed doses and inconsistent recording. Safeguarding processes were not robust, and leaders lacked the required knowledge to identify or act on concerns.”

“Care plans lacked detail, assessments were not routinely updated, and bestpractice guidance was not embedded. Decisions were made without appropriate professional oversight, and there continued to be no evidence of mental capacity assessments or lawful best interest processes.”

“Leadership remained ineffective and governance arrangements were not embedded. Systems to monitor quality, manage risks, or drive improvement were either absent or not followed. Engagement with staff, external partners, and the wider community was limited, and learning from incidents or previous inspections was not demonstrated.”

“The service is being placed in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we use our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide.”

“In instances where CQC has begun a process of regulatory action, we may publish this information on our website after any representations and/or appeals have been concluded, if the action has been taken forward.”