Hemel Hempstead care service 'needs improvement' in every category according to official report

Last month, the Care Quality Commission published a report stating that the Ethica Care Hemel Hempstead and St Albans centre must improve in every category.

Based on visits in December of last year and January, 2026, the care home was given a ‘needs improvement’ rating in all five sections of the report.

These categories relate to the leadership with the organisation, safety, effectiveness, care, and how responsive the service is.

With a base in Hemel Hempstead the service offers at home support to older people who may live with dementia, sensory impairment, or a physical or learning disability.

In a summary of the report, which can be found online here, the CQC discloses that three breaches of regulation were recorded during the month-long assessment period. The health watchdog has called on the provider to develop an action plan addressing concerns raised in the report.

Inspectors found that some people using the service were not always receiving help with their personal hygiene and eating.

According to the report the provider does not have ‘effective systems’ for monitoring the quality and safety of its service. “This had resulted in shortfalls with the oversight of the service and issues related to care visits, call monitoring, medicines administration, incident and safeguarding reporting, reviews of care and care planning and auditing key areas of the service,” the CQC says.

“This lack of oversight meant staff and people received an inconsistent and at times poorly planned approach to providing and receiving care.”

Assessors found that there was enough staff to meet demand at the service but there were flaws in how workers were deployed. The CQC said many members of staff had not received relevant training despite the service running a range of training subjects.

"People’s care was not always planned with them, reviewed when needed and did not assess identified risks to mitigate the risk of harm,” the CQC found. “The systems in place at that time did not support care planning that ensured both safety and that people were at the centre of their care.”

The assessment body said it received varying feedback but improvement in communication was a common concern that was raised. One example recorded by the CQC involved people not always being informed when staff changed or timings were altered.

The watchdog noted that a new manager was appointed in October 2025.

The CQC says the new boss was aware of improvements needed and shared their plan for implementing them. However, the CQC said they had yet to be implemented or had not been in place long enough to assess their impact.

When inspectors visited six months ago, the new manager had not submitted to CQC an application to register as the manager for the service, the commission revealed.

Inspectors said they received mixed feedback during interviews with patients and their relatives. They found some had no concerns with the service while others identified areas for improvement.

Further flaws noted by the QCQ referenced that changes in staff attending homes could ‘unsettle’ patients and that often service users did not receive a ‘comprehensive support plan’.

Ethica Care did not respond to a request for comment.