Care provider in special measures over safety risk
A service which provides private care to people in their own homes in North East Lincolnshire has been placed into special measures.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) rated Unicorn Healthcare Services as inadequate and said it would be kept under close review to ensure its users were safe.
Inspectors said medicines were not always administered safely and staff did not always have the qualifications, skills or experience to carry out their roles.
Unicorn Healthcare Services, which is based in Cleethorpes, said it acknowledged the report but "respectfully disagreed" with some of the findings because they "do not accurately reflect the high quality of care provided".
The inspection in October and November was made after the watchdog received concerns about the service from users and their families.
Some of the concerns included people having to tell their carers what to do, staff not turning up and correct actions not always being taken when incidents occurred.
Inspectors also found staff not wearing the correct personal protective equipment (PPE) at times, which "placed people at risk of infection".
The CQC said it had issued a warning notice for company bosses to make "significant improvements around how they were managing the service".
Alan Stephenson, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said: "This service looks after people who rely on staff for their basic care needs and leaders must make the necessary improvements as a matter of urgency."
He said the watchdog would "use our regulatory powers further if people aren't receiving the care they have a right to expect".
Mr Stephenson also noted staff treated people with "respect and kindness" during visits.
In a statement, Unicorn Healthcare Services said it had noted several areas of concern but wanted the CQC to "consider revising the inspection report to more accurately reflect the high-quality care provided".
The provider said comments around the administration of medication were "inaccurate and misleading" and observations around staff skills and competence were "vague and unsupported".
It also said the report "fails to recognize the numerous instances of exceptional care and support provided by our team".
Following the inspection, Unicorn Healthcare Services said it had offered staff further training and improved the way it monitored performance to "meet the highest standards of care".
The full inspection report will be published in the coming days.
Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Unicorn Healthcare Services
Care Quality Commission
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time Business News
a day ago
- Time Business News
Left Waiting and Losing Hope – How One Patient Found Relief Through Releaf UK When the NHS Couldn't Help
Every weekday, almost 13,000 new mental-health referrals land on NHS desks across the United Kingdom—far more than stretched community teams can absorb. For the people behind those forms the delay is not abstract: it means panic attacks unchecked, sleep lost, jobs at risk and, in the worst cases, lives cut short. This article follows one such patient and examines why catching psychiatric illness early is not only humane but also a hard-nosed economic imperative. Britain's Growing Mental-Health Backlog NHS England processed a record 4.6 million mental-health referrals last year, with typical waits of 12 weeks for an assessment and, in some counties, up to 18 months for specialist talking therapies. The Royal College of Psychiatrists warns that one in three people referred for depression will spiral into crisis if left untreated for more than three months. Behind every statistic is a household coping with sleepless nights, cancelled plans and mounting uncertainty. The Cost of Delay: Survival Rates Under Pressure Timely care can be the difference between recovery and tragedy. A Lancet meta-analysis tracking 34,000 adults found that evidence-based treatment within six weeks of diagnosis cut suicide attempts by 45 percent over two years. For first-episode psychosis, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence reports a 50 percent improvement in five-year survival when therapy begins within 14 days of referral. These findings highlight how crucial timeliness is to well-being in healthcare, as every extra week on the waiting list chips away at a patient's odds of staying alive. Productivity on the Line: Why Business Leaders Should Care Delays also drain the balance sheet. Deloitte's 2024 UK Mental-Health Report calculated that poor mental health cost employers £59 billion in absenteeism, presenteeism and staff turnover—nearly £1,800 per employee. Organisations that installed early intervention programmes, such as on-site counselling or rapid referral partnerships, saw an average 5:1 return on investment. In manufacturing alone, stress-related absences translate to 12.7 million lost working days each year—enough to halt the entire aerospace sector for four straight weeks. Emma's Story: Fourteen Months in Limbo Emma Hughes, a 29-year-old graphic designer from Leicester, illustrates the human toll. After a sudden bereavement she developed severe anxiety, intrusive thoughts and chronic insomnia. Her GP referred her for cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), but the confirmation letter warned of a '40–60-week wait.' Deadlines slipped; sick notes piled up; her self-confidence collapsed. 'Each morning started with a panic attack,' she remembers. By month ten she had exhausted paid leave and faced redundancy. 'I felt invisible—like no one believed how bad it was.' Discovering an Alternate Route Searching for private options, Emma found Releaf's psychiatric care pathway ( a Care Quality Commission-registered clinic offering multidisciplinary assessments within days. Unlike many self-pay services that focus narrowly on prescriptions, Releaf pairs consultant psychiatrists with therapists, nutritionists and sleep specialists. Emma's team designed a stepped-care plan: CBT delivered over secure video, structured sleep-hygiene coaching and, when conventional anxiolytics caused intolerable side-effects, a physician-supervised trial of adjunctive cannabis therapy—a form of cannabinoid treatment tailored to her needs. Six weeks later her sleep stabilised at seven hours a night; by week twelve she had returned to 80 percent of her billable workload. Data on Early Intervention and Workplace Recovery Emma's rapid turnaround echoes wider research. The Centre for Mental Health shows that people receiving comprehensive care within two months of diagnosis are twice as likely to hold a full-time job a year later compared with those who wait more than six months. Replacement costs compound the burden: the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development pegs the expense of replacing a professional-level employee at £30,600, excluding lost expertise. Early psychiatric care therefore functions as a productivity safeguard, not merely a welfare spend. The Emerging Role of Complementary Therapies Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) remain first-line for many disorders, yet growing evidence supports multimodal strategies that include exercise, nutrition and—in specialist settings—medical cannabis for mental health. NICE already endorses cannabinoid medicines for refractory epilepsy and chemotherapy-induced nausea, and pilot studies are exploring benefits for anxiety-related insomnia. For patients like Emma, whose genetics or side-effects rule out standard pharmacology, these adjuncts can mean the difference between chronic disability and daily function. What Swift Access Could Mean for the UK Economy If the NHS achieved its own 28-day referral-to-treatment goal for common mental disorders, economists at the Institute for Public Policy Research estimate a productivity gain of £7.4 billion annually—enough to fund 35,000 additional psychiatric nurses. Meeting that benchmark will require a mixed-economy model in which accredited private providers, including specialized facilities like an addiction treatment center, absorb overflow demand and employers view mental-health budgets as investments. Releaf's rapid-access pathway shows how nimble, multidisciplinary care can slot into that ecosystem, sparing patients the agony of delay and easing pressure on public services alike. TIME BUSINESS NEWS
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Care home rated inadequate for second time by CQC
A care home in Kent has been rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) for the second time. Hevercourt in Gravesend received the rating following an inspection in February which the CQC said found five breaches of legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment, safeguarding, staffing, recruitment and how the service was managed. In response to these findings, CQC imposed urgent conditions on the home to restrict them from taking on new residents without prior agreement from the watchdog. Hevercourt, which was also rated inadequate in a report published in September 2024, has been contacted for a comment. Inspectors found staff were supporting people with unsafe techniques, medicines were still not being managed or stored safely, people's care records and plans were not updated and lacked detail, and incident management and safeguarding systems were poor. The report also said staff were not always recruited safely and there were gaps in employment checks. Areas of the home - including people's bedrooms - remained difficult to keep clean and in need of updating, and the environment continued to be potentially disorienting for people with dementia. A new manager was in post since the last inspection, but the provider had not given them a clear induction or action plan, the CQC said. However, the watchdog added that staff reported the new manager had made some positive changes, such as acting quickly on a concern about a lack of equipment. Serena Coleman, CQC deputy director of operations in the south, said staff did not take action when people's health was at risk. "We also saw detail was missing from notes about what staff did when someone had choked on their food, and staff didn't support people who had wounds on their skin to regularly change positions to prevent further injury," she said. The deputy director said in the watchdog's previous inspection it found people were at risk of sexualised behaviour from other residents and this was still the case. Ms Coleman added: "During the inspection, we saw a 20-minute period where no staff were present in a room with six residents. "Incident reports showed 80% of falls happened during the night shift, but staffing levels hadn't been reviewed." The deputy leader said the care home had been told where "immediate and widespread" improvements were needed. The CQC explained that the home remained in special measures, meaning it was being closely monitored to ensure people were kept safe whilst improvements were made. Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Care service provider rated inadequate by CQC Adult social care requires improvement - watchdog Care home and agency in special measures - CQC Hevercourt Care Quality Commission
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
'Unsafe' care home placed in special measures
A care home that failed to follow safety rules has been rated "inadequate" by inspectors and placed in special measures. Friary House, in Weymouth, Dorset, was previously judged to be "good" at its last Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2021. The CQC said the service was praised by residents, families and professionals, but poor record-keeping and regulation breaches made it unsafe. Owner Peter Fry, of Friary Care Ltd, apologised and said issues were being rectified. The CQC, which visited in February and March, said 16 older people were living at the home, some with dementia. A health professional told inspectors the home was "welcoming and homely" while a resident said: "I could not be in better hands." However, the CQC identified numerous system failures. There were insufficient risk assessments, care plans and incident reviews, inspectors said. The home did not provide consistent staff training or background checks, although turnover was low and agency workers were not used, the CQC added. Regional deputy director Neil Cox said: "We discovered that water hygiene risks, including those related to harmful bacteria such as legionella, hadn't been assessed. "A risk assessment was only carried out after our visit, uncovering urgent actions." However, inspectors said residents were treated with "kindness, empathy and compassion". One resident became mobile enough to spend Christmas at home with their family after asking to be taken to a weekly slimming club and given special meals, the CQC was told. The report added: "Professionals generally told us that the provider works well with them, contacts them and follows the advice they provided. "While people and relatives expressed a general satisfaction with the care, our assessment found elements of care did not meet the required standards." In a statement, Mr Fry said: "At Friary Care we pride ourselves on delivering the best possible care to our residents. "That is why we would like to sincerely apologise that, as an outcome of a recent CQC inspection, Friary House has been rated as inadequate. "Please be assured that Friary Care has already taken immediate action to rectify issues highlighted by CQC. "We would like to thank all of the residents, their families, staff, and all professional bodies for their words of encouragement and continued support." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Care Quality Commission Friary Care
