Barnsley care agency 'recruitment procedures unsafe'

A care agency which left people "at risk of avoidable harm" by not ensuring staff had been properly trained has been put into special measures.

Stars Social Support, which provides personal care to people living in their own home, was inspected by the Care Quality Commission earlier this year.

Inspectors found safe recruitment procedures were not in place to make sure suitable staff were employed.

A report following the inspection states that "safe recruitment procedures were not in place to ensure only staff suitable to work in the caring profession were employed."

It said people's references had not been followed up after they had been requested, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. The report added: "When the disclosure and barring service (DBS) identified concerns, a risk assessment had not been completed to assess staff suitability."

Inspectors also found not all staff who provided care had received appropriate training or training updates to ensure they were competent.

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Source: BBC News, 21 November 2020