Vulnerable and elderly residents have allegedly been overcharged by up to £1,000 for services by a home care provider in Stockport, a report has revealed.
ECM Domiciliary Care LTD were found to have failed in five of the seven national standards areas revealed in a recent Care and Quality Commission report.
The inspection report published this month revealed that this home care provider for the elderly and patients with dementia or mental health conditions required enforced action in standard areas of treatment, care and management.
Fees and invoices were a major concern to a CQC inspector who found that poor record keeping may have lead to patients being overcharged.
The report read: “We found in one instance a person was being charged for differing periods of care which was contrary to the period as stated in their contract.
“We checked the invoices that this person had been sent from the beginning of December to the end of June 2013 and found that they had been consistently over charged by a total amount exceeding £1,000.
“We looked at the invoices for a further six people and found that they had also been overcharged.”
The inspectors said they were worried that vulnerable people were not being protected because ECM Domiciliary did not have in place systems which made sure people were being charged the correct price for the service they received.
According to the report, patients had initially received a contract when the service started but had not received further contracts reflecting changes to the services being provided.
The manager told CQC inspectors that they were unable to provide an explanation for the discrepancies. They said they ‘did not know how or why these mistakes had been made’.
During this inspection, CQC inspectors also found that a serious incident had taken place on April 9 when a person using the service had a fall and was seriously injured while their care worker was present.
According to the inspectors, the manager had not considered the implications of this incident and had not carried out their duties as a registered care provider. They had not notified the CQC or the local authority of the incident as they customarily are required to do.
The manager then attempted to fabricate the accident form.
The report read: “We asked the manager if an accident or incident form had been completed after the injury.
“The manager was some time in bringing this to us so we went into the main office and found that one was in the process of being written. We asked the manager if they had just written up the accident form and they replied yes.”
The report stated that without appropriate assessment and care planning, people were at risk of receiving unsafe and inappropriate care.
A CQC spokesperson said: “If improvements have not been made then CQC has a range of enforcement powers which include restricting the services that a provider can offer or in the most serious cases, suspending or cancelling a service.
“CQC can also issue financial penalty notices and cautions, or prosecute the provider for failing to meet national standards.”
ECM Domiciliary Limited declined to comment.
Picture courtesy of Xavi Talleda via Flickr, with thanks.
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