Francis House Home Care

Updated 16 December 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an expert by experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

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

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 25 October 2021 and ended on 17 November 2021. We visited the office location on 01 November 2021.

What we did before 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. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with nine relatives of people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the registered manager, team manager, one member of the office team, and six care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 16 December 2021

About the service

Francis House Home Care is a domiciliary care agency providing personal care to people in their own home.

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.

There were 101 people being supported at the time of the inspection, 19 of whom were in receipt of the regulated activity of personal care.

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

Relatives told us communication with the office was not always good. However, the provider was taking action to address this through a management restructure which was in progress at the time of the inspection.

Relatives said their family members were supported safely and treated with kindness and respect. They were happy with their family member’s care when it was provided by their regular staff who were friendly, professional and well trained. They were less confident when care was provided by new or unfamiliar staff. However, the provider had a comprehensive induction process for new staff and tried, where possible, to ensure people received care from a consistent group of staff. People’s medicine was administered safely.

People’s needs and preferences were assessed before care was provided and they were supported by staff who understood the importance of promoting choice and personalised care. Staff supported people to remain as independent as possible.

Where staff supported people with eating and drinking, this was done well. Staff worked with health professionals and followed guidance to meet people’s needs effectively.

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.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 29 September 2020 and this is the first inspection.

This service previously formed part of another service run by this provider and was registered at a different premises. The last rating for the service at the previous premises was good, published on 24 April 2018.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date of registration.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.