Independent People Homecare Services (20 010 369)

Category : Adult care services > Domiciliary care

Decision : Upheld

Decision date : 14 Jul 2021

The Ombudsman's final decision:

Summary: Mrs X complains the care provider failed to provide a suitable carer for her care needs. As a result, she had no choice but to commission an alternative care provider. We find fault with the care provider and have made recommendations.

The complaint

  1. Mrs X complains the care provider failed to provide a suitable carer for their care needs. As a result, she had no choice but to commission an alternative care provider to provider care for 10 days until the end of her contract. Mrs X says this meant she paid the care provider £1857.14 for 10 days of care she did not receive.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

  1. We investigate complaints about adult social care providers and decide whether their actions have caused an injustice, or could have caused injustice, to the person making the complaint. I have used the term fault to describe such actions. (Local Government Act 1974, sections 34B and 34C)
  2. If an adult social care provider’s actions have caused an injustice, we may suggest a remedy. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34H(4))

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How I considered this complaint

  1. I spoke with Mrs X and considered the information she provided.
  2. I made enquiries with the care provider and considered the information it provided.
  3. I sent a draft decision to Mrs X and the care provider and considered their comments.

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What I found

What happened

  1. Mrs X had received care from the care provider since 2018. The care provider also provided her husband with care.
  2. Mrs X’s care plan set out the following care to be provided in the morning:
    • Empty and clean the commode.
    • Help with strip wash: help PA wash and clean legs, feet and back.
    • Apply cream to legs.
    • Help with putting compression stockings on.
    • Help with dressing. PA will advise what support she wants.
    • Check food in fridge/cupboards. Check food dates and remove any out of date food. Tell PA of any food being removed.
    • Empty bins and/or recycling.
  3. The care plan also set out the following care to be provided in the evening:
    • Help with removing compression stockings.
    • Wash legs, dry, and reapply cream to legs.
  4. In May 2020, the care provider changed the carer than had been providing care to Mrs X and her husband.
  5. The care provider provided its daily care notes between March and June 2020. Having reviewed the records, I note many dates where there was no record of care given to Mrs X’s legs in the morning. There was also no record of leg care given at night.
  6. The daily care notes also do not show that carers had checked Mrs X’s fridge or cupboards to check food, nor any mention of washing the commode every day.
  7. At the end of May 2020, Mrs X gave notice to the care provider to end her care.
  8. In June 2020, Mrs X asked the care provider to provide a different carer as she felt the care provided by the carer was not suitable. Mrs X said there were incidents with her husband’s catheter bag and hoists. Mrs X said the care provider only offered her a male carer, which she was not comfortable with.
  9. Mrs X said this meant her only choices were to stick with the carer she felt was unsuitable or accept the male carer. Mrs X was not happy with this so arranged for another care provider to provide care from mid-June 2020.
  10. The care provider said it could not say what other choices it gave to Mrs X, but confirmed it did offer a male carer which Mrs X declined.
  11. In December 2020, the CQC inspected the care provider. The overall rating for the service was inadequate. On whether the service was safe and effective, CQC rated it as inadequate.

Analysis

  1. Mrs X’s care plan sets out the care to be provided. This included leg care in the morning and evening, and checking food in the fridge and cupboard.
  2. The care notes provided by the care provider showed there were many days where no leg care was provided to Mrs X during the day. The notes also do not document any leg care provided to Mrs X during the evening, nor any action to check the food in the cupboards and fridge. The lack of record suggests care was not provided by the carer.
  3. Therefore, I consider there has been fault because, on balance, the care provider did not provide care to Mrs X in line with her care plan. The fault caused Mrs X distress because she did not receive the care she needed and paid for.
  4. Further, the care provider was inspected by CQC in December 2020. The CQC’s rating for the service was inadequate. The ratings also highlighted that on whether the service was inadequate when it came to being safe and effective.
  5. Therefore, this adds weight to Mrs X complaint that the care provider provided unsuitable care.
  6. The evidence shows Mrs X asked the care provider to provide a different carer. This was due because she felt the current carer was not suitable due to several incidents that had happened.
  7. There is evidence the care provider offered Mrs X a male carer to replace the current carer, but that Mrs X declined this as she was not comfortable with a male carer. There is no evidence the care provider offered any other carer to Mrs X. This is fault.
  8. While it is accepted it is not always possible for care providers to match carers with service users, it is reasonable to expect the care provider to offer more than two options.
  9. On balance, I consider the fault meant Mrs X was left with no option but to arrange care from another provider. This is because she was uncomfortable accepting a male carer and because she felt the current carer was unsuitable. This meant Mrs X had to pay the care provider for care which it did not provide.

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Agreed actions

  1. To remedy the injustice caused by the faults identified, the care provider has agreed to complete the following:
    • Apologise to Mrs X for failing to provide care in line with her care plan, and for not providing her with another carer when she raised concerns about the suitability of the current carer.
    • Refund Mrs X the full cost of the 10 days paid where it provided no care. The total to refund is £1857.14.
    • Pay Mrs X £100 to recognise the distress caused by the fault identified.
  2. The care provider should complete the above within four weeks of the final decision.

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Final decision

  1. I find fault with care provider for failing to provide care in line with Mrs X’s care plan and for not providing another carer when concerns were raised about the suitability of the current carer. The care provider has accepted my recommendations. Therefore, I have completed my investigation.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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