Merseycare Julie Ann Limited on Edge Lane has been deemed inadequate
15:47, 21 Aug 2025Updated 06:08, 22 Aug 2025
One resident at Merseycare Julie Ann was left laying in their own faeces according to a new report
A Liverpool care agency has been plunged into special measures after a resident was left laying in their own faeces. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has downgraded the overall rating for Merseycare Julie Ann Limited on Edge Lane to inadequate and placed the service into special measures to protect people, following an inspection from March to April.
Merseycare Julie Ann Limited, run by a company with the same name, is a domiciliary care agency that provides support to people living in their own homes. 450 people were receiving support at the time of this inspection, including autistic people and people with a learning disability.
The CQC carried out the inspection after receiving information of concern about the service. The issues were substantiated during the visit and two breaches of regulation were found in relation to safe care and treatment and good management, including a resident being left sat in excrement after a carer was late.
Two warning notices have been served on the facility highlighting where care officials expect to see “rapid and widespread improvements” and an action plan to implement them.
The move into special measures involves close monitoring to ensure people are safe while they make improvements. CQC has also downgraded the ratings of safe and well-led from good to inadequate.
How effective, caring and responsive the service is, has dropped from good to requires improvement.
Karen Knapton, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said: “When we inspected Merseycare Julie Ann Limited, we were concerned to find that leaders didn’t have the skills or knowledge to provide safe care to people, and they weren’t listening to feedback from the people they were meant to care for.
“We found a significant number of visits weren’t being carried out at the correct time with some two hours late or two hours early. One relative told us they found their loved one lying in their own faeces due to a carer being late, which is incredibly undignified.
“They had raised a number of concerns about timings, but leaders had not taken any action. This exposed people to the risk of avoidable harm, neglect and distress. It was also concerning that there were no effective systems in place to review people’s care needs when they came out of hospital.
“One person was in hospital for over a week, and the service didn’t have any information about what care the person needed when they returned home putting them at risk of going back in hospital.
“We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid improvements and will continue to monitor the service closely to keep people safe while this happens.
“We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to use our regulatory powers further if people aren’t receiving the care they have a right to expect. Leaders of the service have said they will work with CQC to ensure improvements are made for the people they care for.”
A spokesperson for Merseycare Julie Ann said: “While disappointed with CQC’s assessment, we have accepted it on the basis that our priority has always been, and remains, to provide safe, compassionate, and high-quality care to the people we support.
“Most importantly, we are committed to continuous improvement and to working closely with our professional colleagues, to ensure our services meet the highest possible standards.
“We will continue to focus on delivering the best outcomes for our service users and supporting our staff.”
