Fitzpatrick Total Home Care Limited

Updated 15 June 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

This service is a domiciliary care agency. It provides personal care to people living in their own houses and flats.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 4 May 2023 and ended on 12 May 2023. We visited the location’s office on 4 May 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 6 people who used the service and 4 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 9 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, senior and care staff. We also received feedback from 2 health professionals who have contact with the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people’s care records, 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 15 June 2023

About the service

Fitzpatrick Total Home Care Limited is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people living in their own homes. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection there were 32 people receiving personal care support.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The provider’s processes for monitoring the quality and safety of the service were not always effective in demonstrating what actions were taken when issues were identified. The provider had not always ensured all appropriate notifications were sent to CQC in line with their regulatory responsibility. We have made a recommendation about the provider’s quality assurance systems.

The provider had systems in place to recruit staff safely; however, checks were not always fully documented. We have made a recommendation about the provider’s recruitment processes. We received some mixed feedback from staff about how supported they felt in their roles.

People told us they were happy with the care they received and spoke positively about the staff and management team. People told us staff were reliable and they received their care at their preferred times. Staff understood people’s needs and how they liked to be supported. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People told us they felt safe. Staff knew how to recognise and report any signs of abuse or concerns about people’s safety. Risks to people’s safety were assessed and documented. The provider had processes in place to monitor the administration of medicines and people’s care plans contained information about how to support them. People and relatives felt involved in the service and told us they were able to give feedback and discuss any concerns with the registered manager.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 13 February 2018).

Why we inspected

We received information of concern in relation to the timing of people’s care visits and management oversight at the service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained good. However, we have found evidence the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the well-led section of this full report.

Recommendations

We have made recommendations in relation to staff recruitment and management processes for monitoring the quality and safety of the service.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.