CQC rates Watford's Choice Global 'requires improvement'

An inspection report for Choice Global - whose headquarters are based at George Street's Old Free School - was published on Wednesday (November 1), following an inspection on September 22.

All five areas assessed by the inspection - safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led - were all rated as 'requires improvement'.

The service, which provided support to 15 individuals at the time of the inspection, did not always manage medicines safely, according to the CQC.

The report continues: "Care plans were not always person-centred and did not provide consistent information. This meant staff did not always know important information about people.

"There was limited information recorded in risk assessments to guide staff to care for people safely."

On the care itself, the report adds: "People were not always supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not always support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not always support this practice.

"People told us they felt staff needed more training as they often had to show people how to care for their loved ones."

Inspectors added: "We were not assured people's nutritional and hydrational needs have been assessed as there was limited information record about people's needs.

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"The provider was not carrying out assessments before they started to deliver care."

However, despite these negatives, the report did note some positives for the company.

Among them was customer satisfaction, with the report reading: "People were happy with the care they received, and they felt the service was well managed.

"...Staff understood how to safeguard people from the risk of harm and people told us they felt safe."

A spokesperson for Choice Global said it will be implementing improvements to its service, and will address the points raised by the CQC.

Re-training will also take place to ensure that "the highest standard of care" is delivered by Choice Global's employees.

They added: "The wellbeing and care of our clients are of utmost importance to us.

Choice Global is based at The Old Free School, in George Street, Watford. (Image: Google Maps)

"We take the CQC's report findings seriously and have been actively addressing the points raised.

"Our dedicated team has been diligently working over the past few weeks, focusing on re-training, and implementing the necessary improvements as advised and agreed with CQC. 

"We want to assure our community and stakeholders that we are fully committed to delivering the highest standard of care and continuously improving our services."

The CQC will now meet with Choice Global to discuss how to improve its rating.

The commission will also work with local councils to monitor the service ahead of another inspection.