Fortune Smiles Service Ltd

Fortune Smiles Service Ltd is a domiciliary care agency and is based in the London Borough of Redbridge. The service provides personal care to people in their own homes. 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.

The service was supporting 2 people with personal care at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service

Risks assessments were not robust to ensure people received safe care. Care plans did not include people’s preferences with personal care to ensure they received person centred care. Communication plan did not include how to communicate with people effectively. We have made a recommendation in this area.

People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Robust audit arrangements were not in place to ensure shortfalls could be identified and prompt action taken.

Staff were aware of how to safeguard people from abuse. Systems were in place to prevent and minimise the spread of infections when supporting people. Pre-employment checks had been carried out to ensure staff were suitable to work with people. Medicines were being managed safely. Systems were in place to ensure staff attended calls on time.

Staff had been trained to perform their roles effectively. Staff supervisions were regular to ensure staff were being supported at all times.

People received care from staff who were caring and had a good relationship with them. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity. People were encouraged to be independent and to carry out tasks without support.

Systems were in place to ensure feedback was received from people on their care.

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

Rating at last inspection

This was the first inspection of the service since it registered with CQC on 7 October 2021.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

The overall rating for the service is Requires Improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Fortune Smiles Service Ltd on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement and recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to need for consent and good governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.