Archived: Athena Care Limited

Updated 22 October 2019

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 one 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.

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 26 September 2019 and ended on 2 October 2019. We visited the office location on 26 September. We made calls to people using the service, their relatives and staff on 27 September, 1 and 2 October 2019.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 four people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered manager, office manager, assessment manager and social care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple 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 22 October 2019

About the service

Athena Care provides care and support to people living in their own houses and flats. The service was supporting 38 people at the time of inspection.

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.

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

People and relatives were happy with the care and support they received and spoke positively about staff and the registered manager. People's care and support needs were met by staff who knew them well and enjoyed working with them.

Safe recruitment practices were followed. Appropriate recruitment checks took place before staff started work. Staff received comprehensive training to enable them to carry out their roles effectively. Staff were happy working for the service and felt supported by the registered manager and colleagues. Staff success was recognised and celebrated.

Care records contained extensive, clear information covering all aspects of people's individualised care and support. Their communication needs were assessed and recorded in detail. Risk assessments were comprehensive and information about people was written in a respectful and personalised way.

Staff supported people to access a healthy, varied diet and food they enjoyed.

People and their relatives were involved in the planning and delivery of their care, and regularly asked for feedback which was acted upon when appropriate.

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.

Staff supported people to take part in activities they enjoyed and to access the community.

Staff at the service worked with health and social care professionals to ensure good outcomes for people.

There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service. When there were problems, the registered manager dealt with them appropriately and worked to reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

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 6 April 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.