INSPECTORS prioritise paperwork over patients, according to the owner of a care facility criticised by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Following a recent inspection, the Fountains homecare facility in Darlington was accused of a number of failings, including breaches of the Health and Social Care Act.

The CQC said the domiciliary care agency – which offers personal care for people living in their own homes – required improvement in a number of areas.

Inspectors who visited in January found the service was not safe, effective or well-led enough to meet standards, despite praising the good levels of care offered and responsiveness of staff.

They highlighted gaps in record keeping, inappropriate recruitment methods and suggested not enough was done to ensure staff were appropriately trained, competent in administering medicine and were “of good character and had the qualifications, skills and experience to perform the work.”

The report – published on Tuesday, March 31 – said management had used Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks carried out by previous employers and had employed people with convictions without appropriate risk assessments being done.

The inspection found that the registered management needed further understanding on good recruitment practice, after they were asked how they knew people could legally work in the UK and replied: “Because they are not foreign.”

The lack of effective recruitment procedures and appropriate training, professional development and supervision were found to be in breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Owner Amanda Jackson said improvements had been made since the inspection and claimed the majority of problems stemmed from paperwork issues.

She admitted employing staff with convictions but said the conviction had been a driving one and not relevant to the role.

She said: “I know the service needs improving, I know the paperwork needs improving but there’s nothing anyone can say about the care provided.

“We’ve put a lot in place since the inspection was done and the inspection was different to last time, there’s a lot more paperwork detail – where’s the focus on care?

“Everyone we care for is happy, well looked after and we go above and beyond for people.

“We were criticised for doing more than we should but we do what’s needed for someone’s mum or grandma, they’re human beings.

“There’s too much emphasis on paperwork and not enough on caring for people – we do this job because we care.”