National Ombudsmen
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Provider refuses to apologise to man for poor care
A South West care provider whose workers did not care properly for a man in his home has refused to apologise after being instructed by the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman.
Care 1st Ltd had been contracted to look after a man in early May 2020, but throughout the short time its three staff members were in place, the man’s family had a number of concerns with the quality of its care, and professionalism of staff.
The family complained to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, whose investigation found Care 1st Ltd did not deliver part of the care package, including not completing household tasks in a timely way, and often left the man alone.
It also found the provider failed to promptly identify the man had mistakenly taken a double dose of his medication. This fell below the expected standard of care, although there is no evidence it harmed the man.
Care 1st also fell short of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) Fundamental Standards, which require service users to be treated with dignity and respect. This related to a conversation between two carers about racial ethnicity which took place in the man’s home, within earshot.
The man also suffered distress because of the medication issue and the conversation about race which took place in his presence.
As a result, the Ombudsman asked the provider to apologise to the man in writing, and deduct £500 from his final balance, however it has refused to do this.
Michael King, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, yesterday said:
“In the vast majority of cases, care providers agree to my recommendations to put things right.
“That I have had to go to such extreme measures as to issue an Adverse Findings Notice because Care 1st Limited has refused to offer a simple apology and small payment demonstrates how seriously I take a provider’s lack of compliance.
“I would encourage people when choosing a provider, to think strongly not just about the care itself, but also about how a provider deals with complaints should they arise.”
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