A CARE firm has been plunged into special measures after a series of failures which left users at risk of catching coronavirus.

Super Healthcare, which has been rated inadequate, was criticised by the Care Quality Commission in its latest report – which revealed staff were not taking part in regular testing.

The Westcliff care agency, who provide personal care to people in their own homes, had not followed government guidance around infection control and staff had not been tested for three weeks at the time of the inspection.

Staff told the CQC they had been caring for people recently who had tested positive for Covid-19, with the team helping support the hospital discharge of patients with a positive test result.

This meant people were being placed at increased risk of being exposed to coronavirus.

However, Kadija Ndlovu, registered manager at the firm, has said action has been taken to fix any shortcomings highlighted in the report.

She said: “Since the visit from CQC we are now testing staff every week. We had been testing staff before this, but at the time it wasn’t as regular. We are also encouraging clients to take part in Covid testing too.”

The inspection, which took place in April, was prompted by an incident which left a service-user with a “serious injury”.

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Bosses say the client had been having his leg bathed at the time, when his foot was scalded. It is understood the incident is subject to a criminal investigation.

Mrs Ndlovu added: “In regards to the incident which took place, it was very unfortunate. The water temperature was tested by the client with his hand, and his leg was being bathed in the water at the time.

“We have supported the client and now have thermometers/temperature gages in place, which the team take each time we go out.

“We are working very hard with extra staff in the office, and working closely with the CQC, the council and our clients to make improvements.”

Findings also revealed the registered manager had failed to risk assess staff or clients to identify those at higher risk from contracting Covid-19. This meant people’s risk were not known and could therefore not be managed or mitigated.

Management had also failed to ensure staff were recruited safely and where risk assessments had been completed, they were inadequate. This put people at increased risk of harm.