A PERSON was left without pain relief for 24 hours by a Southampton care service, a watchdog report has revealed.

Josben Care Southampton has been given a rating of 'requires improvement' by the CQC following an inspection.

The service, which provides support and personal care to people living in their own homes, said that it has been "an extremely challenging time for everyone in the care sector".

Three out of five categories - safe, effective, and well-led - were given the 'requires improvement' grade.

The other two categories - caring and responsive - were rated 'good'.

Inspectors found that one incident saw a person go without pain relief for 24 hours.

A person prescribed a medication, lacked guidance in place to ensure best practice was being followed, the report said.

The provider told inspectors that these were not in place.

It was noted that recruitment checks were not always fully completed as some staff did not have the appropriate checks before being employed in the service.

The inspectors found that risk assessments were not always in place.

This included risk assessments for a person who was assessed as being at risk of pressure sores and a person who was at known risk of choking.

A person living with a long-term condition did not have a relevant care plan providing guidance to staff on how the condition affected them and how to manage the condition effectively if it exacerbated.

Despite this, relatives told inspectors that happy with the service provider.

One person said: "They couldn't be kinder. Lively, knowledgeable, courteous, and friendly without being too familiar. I think they do an excellent job for us."

Another added that staff were "very nice".

Staff received training on equality and diversity which helped ensure they respected people's individual needs and care plans were developed with people and their relatives, where appropriate.

Comfort Gyimah, the registered manager of Josben Care Services, said that they have taken "immediate steps" to address the issues raised by the CQC.

She said: "This has been an extremely challenging time for everyone in the care sector.

"We have taken immediate steps to address issues mentioned in the CQC report.

"We would like to believe that our staff strive for excellence and will continue to do so amidst all the challenges the healthcare sector is currently facing. "The excellent care we strive to deliver can be seen in the feedback and compliments from our clients and staff.

"We have put in place new learning strategies, systems, and education tools to ensure the safety of our clients and to comply with CQC regulations.

"Josben Care Management Team has taken prompt action in addressing the concerns mentioned by CQQ to ensure that we attain a good rating to demonstrate that we adhere to all their expectations.

"We will continue to work with CQC for their support and guidance as indicated by them."