Tory councillor's care firm appeals against CQC

A Conservative councillor's company is appealing against a proposal by the care sector regulator to effectively close it after it was likened to a "rudderless ship".

Ranis Healthcare, whose directors include Cambridgeshire County Council's Leedo George, was rated inadequate by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in the summer.

The council, which has suspended new placements with the firm, has refused to say how much it has paid Ranis for a contract to provide home care for adults.

Mr George said Ranis, which cares for people with dementia and disabilities, was hopeful of a "positive outcome" from a recent CQC re-inspection, having brought in a new management team and a reduced number of patients.

The county's contract with Ranis began two years before Mr George became a councillor.

The CQC has given Ranis Healthcare a "notice of decision" to remove its registration.

Ranis is appealing and the case is due to go to a first-tier tribunal.

The CQC report — published in August — said there had been six breaches of regulations, including over safe care and treatment, and safeguarding.

The CQC were also told people were unsure who was managing the service and did not feel listened to, with one relative stating: "They never call back — it's like shouting into a void. It is just a rudderless ship."

The regulator also said: "Systems and processes to ensure people were protected from the risk of harm were poor and inefficient."

A Freedom of Information request by the BBC also found there were accusations against Ranis of late payment of wages and of unsigned contracts.

It also revealed Ranis were suspended from having new placements by the council by 23 April, nine days before the elections which saw Mr George become a councillor for the Huntingdon North and Hartford ward.

The council said it was "continuing to support [Ranis] in making the changes required, as identified in the CQC report and outlined in their action plan".

"We meet with them regularly and we continue to be in regular communication with the CQC on the matter."

Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.