A SERVICE which provides care for adults and children in their own homes has been told to improve by the health watchdog.

Bronte Care Services, which is based in Bingley, was visited on three occasions in March and April earlier this year.

It was rated 'requires improvement' in every area - safety, effectiveness, how caring the service is it, responsiveness and leadership.

In their report, inspectors said the service was not consistently safe and while there were sufficient numbers of care workers employed, staff were not always effectively deployed.

Inspectors said people who used the service told them staff did not always follow correct infection control procedures.

The report outlined while staff received training and support to enable them to meet people's need, records showed some staff had not received practical manual handling training.

Inspectors said: "This meant these staff had not been showed how to use equipment such as hoists, and slide sheets in person increasing the risk they would not be used correctly."

The report outlined that people who used the service said staff were caring.

One person said: "I don't like having to accept help but the girls that come to me are lovely and so kind."

But inspectors said while some people said they usually had the same carer or team of carers providing their care and support, other people were concerned they did not receive continuity of care.

Bronte Care Services was said to be responsive to people's changing needs and support plans were in place to ensure care was provided in line with people's preferences.

However, inspectors said not everyone had been involved in reviewing their support plan.

They said while there was a clear complaints procedure, they were concerned some minor concerns and some verbal complaints were not consistently being logged.

And in looking at leadership, the CQC said: "Not everyone felt the service was well managed and the provider had not implemented an effective system to monitor if staff had arrived within the agreed time band or had stayed the correct

length of time.

"When concerns were raised, action was not always taken to address the issues highlighted and improve the service people received. The providers systems for checking the quality and safety of the services people experienced were not always working as well as they should. We were assured the provider is committed to putting this right."

A spokesperson for Bronte Care Services, who declined to be named, said they were "disappointed" with rating as a lot of work has been done and said the service is improving every day.