Leeds occupational therapy company told it 'requires improvement' by Care Quality Commission inspectors

Positive OT & Case Management Ltd, based in Town Street, Horsforth, was inspected on August 3 last year and the report states systems were were either not in place or robust enough to demonstrate good governance, which placed people at risk of harm.

The report focuses on five questions, assessing whether the service was safe, effective, caring responsive and well-led. The service was rated ‘good’ in all categories except the final one, which asked checked whether the service was well-led.

A section of the report read: “Quality assurance checks to cover all aspect of the service were not in place. The audits that had been completed lacked clarity regarding concerns identified and failed to provide actions taken. This did not support a system of continuous improvement.

“The service improvement plan was not robust. The lack of auditing did not support an effective improvement plan. The provider had policies and procedures in place which covered all aspects of the service. However, we could not be assured all the policies were followed as the provider had no quality assurance systems in place. The policies seen had been reviewed and were up to date.

“We found no evidence that people had been harmed. However, systems were either not in place or robust enough to demonstrate good governance. This placed people at risk of harm. This was a breach of regulation 17 (Good governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.”

The report did state the registered manager had the “skills, knowledge and experience to perform their role and a clear understanding of people's needs and oversight of the services they managed”. There was also evidence the provider had started to address the issues identified and staff told the CQC they felt supported. Relatives spoke well of the care staff, saying they treated people with “care, dignity and respect”.

In the ‘care’ section, the CQC stated relatives had said the care they were receiving was having a positive impact on their lives. There was also praise for the service’s effectiveness, safety and meeting of needs through “good organisation and delivery”.

A section of the report read: “People received care and support which reflected their needs. Care plans were personalised to reflect peoples care needs. People's likes, dislikes and what was important to the person were recorded. Staff were knowledgeable about people's specific needs and preferences. Staff could explain how they supported people in line with this information,

"Relatives and people were involved in care planning and care plans included preferences for care. One person said ‘we had a meeting to do the planning of his care and its reviewed regularly’. An effective complaints process was in place. People using the service and relatives told us they knew how to complain. One relative told us ‘I would complain if I needed to, but I have no concerns’.”

Positive OT & Case Management Ltd was approached for comment but did not respond.