Cosham homecare business owner speaks out after firm fined £44,000 for operating illegally for five years

Golden Years Caring at Home Ltd, run by directors Kim Harrison and Craig Hockham, was prosecuted by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) after it was discovered the agency had operated without registering with the watchdog since it opened in March 2015.

Mrs Harrison told The News that the three carers, who worked for the company, and the 10 clients they were looking after were ‘fully aware it wasn’t registered but was going through the process of [registering]’.

The CQC initially received information from Portsmouth City Council about the business in September 2017.

The company was contacted by the CQC about not being registered between October 2017 and September 2019 and several failed attempts were made to register with the CQC but the business did not meet the standards required so registration was refused.

Mrs Harrison admitted to The News that ‘no attempts to register [were made] between 2015 and 2017’.

She said: ‘We tried and tried to get CQC approval but they kept throwing it back at us.

‘Both staff and clients were fully aware we were not registered but we were going through the process of doing it.’

The company, which says it was advised to stop business in March this year, was fined £34,833 at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after admitting it had carried out regulated activity without the required registration, breaching section 10 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

The firm must pay a £170 victim surcharge and £9,000 costs.

It is one of the largest fines given to a unregistered provider.

Joyce Frederick, CQC’s deputy chief inspector of registration, said: ‘The law requires care agencies to register with the Care Quality Commission to protect people needing care in their own homes. It ensures all care providers are monitored and inspected, meaning safe care and treatment is maintained.

‘This is one of the largest fines handed out to an unregistered provider. I would hope the size of this fine would send a very clear message to anyone thinking of operating a service without registering with the Care Quality Commission.’

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