A CARE provider which supports people with disabilities, autism and mental health needs has been ordered to improve.

Wigan DCA, which is based at Lloyd House on Greenfold Way in Leigh and is a branch of the national charity United Response, was given a rating of "requires improvement" in its latest inspection.

Healthcare regulator, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), scored the provider as being in the category of "requires improvement" in three out of the five areas it was marked on.

These three areas are its effectiveness, responsiveness and leadership.

The report said: "During our inspection we found that some staff had not received individual supervision and some care records contained out of date information.

"Although these concerns had already been identified by the new registered manager and steps (are being) taken to improve these areas moving forward, the provider should have ensured these areas were monitored during the period when the service did not have a registered manager.

"This was a breach of Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act (2008) Regulated Activities 2014.

"We have asked the provider to send us a report that says what action they are going to take.

"There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service. However, some areas of the service require further improvement."

In the other two areas of the report, its safety and whether it is caring, Wigan DCA was ranked as "good".

The report stated: "Procedures were in place to safeguard people from harm and abuse. Recruitment processes were robust and protected people who used the service from the risk of unsuitable staff.

"The management of medicines was carried out safely.

"Risk assessments were in place to help manage risks to people and keep them safe.

"People were supported by staff who were patient and kind.

"Staff helped people maintain and develop their independence."

The inspection took place on November 21 and 22 and was published on December 31.

At the time of the visit, Wigan DCA was caring for 42 people in the borough, Salford and Stockport who have learning disabilities, autism, mental health needs or physical disabilities.

Area manager for United Response in Greater Manchester Catherine Taylor said: “We are committed to providing the very best possible care at United Response and are very proud of the overall quality of our services nationally and locally.

“We accept the findings of the CQC’s recent report of our Wigan DCA provision, where due to recruitment issues there was no registered manager for more than a year.

“This meant that some administrative elements at the provision, such as record-keeping and staff appraisals, weren’t maintained as well as they should have been.

“In spite of this, there was absolutely no compromise in the quality of bespoke care given to people with learning disabilities or autism at the Wigan DCA provision.

"Throughout this whole period, there was a dedicated and consistent staffing team working to enable and empower vulnerable people to live good quality and independent lives.

“Indeed, feedback from the people we support at Wigan DCA and their families is regularly very positive – as mentioned in the report itself.

“As well as recruiting a permanent registered manager to oversee the provision, we’ve put in place a thorough action plan to improve the necessary components of the services in question over the coming weeks.

"This plan has been accepted by the CQC, which has expressed confidence in our ability to bring Wigan DCA back to the overall high standards it was judged to have when last inspected.”