Avengers Prime Care

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• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

Staff told us they felt supported in their role and the registered manager was approachable. They told us they were a good team and worked well together. The registered manager consistently monitored the service to help ensure they were providing good quality care to people. They did this through meetings with people, staff and anyone else involved in someone’s care, staff meetings, audits and spot checks on staff to help ensure they were following good practice. The registered manager and staff learnt from accidents and incidents and they shared this learning with the appropriate authorities. The registered manager had a clear vision on how they wished to grow the agency in the future.

This service scored 75 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The registered manager said they looked for particular qualities in the staff they employed. They told us, “They have to have the same values as us, which is to be honest, moral and reliable. These are the qualities we are looking for.” All staff said they worked together well as a team.

There were robust recruitment processes in place to help ensure appropriate people were recruited into the role. In addition, the registered manager carried out regular spot and competency checks on staff to monitor performance and check they were meeting their values.

The registered manager was passionate about her agency, staff and the care that was being provided. This was evident when speaking with her. She told us, “Every patient is precious. We need to be organised and efficient. We like to give the team autonomy. We feel they will work better if they have it.” Staff said they felt supported and they could ask for advice from the registered manager or their colleagues.

Staff met together through meetings and training. This gave them the opportunity to share ideas, raise questions and discuss areas of concern.

Staff told us they felt comfortable raising concerns or seeking support. They told us the registered manager was supportive and available. They told us they felt confident to be able to talk up at team meetings and talk through things openly. Although one staff member said, “Sometimes communication isn’t good and we have to chase and chase because (the registered manager) doesn’t get back to you.” The registered manager said, “We have talked to staff about the importance of whistleblowing and safeguarding. We work closely with Kent local authority. People should always have the courage to whistle-blow if they see something.”

There was a system in place in which staff could raise concerns and these were investigated by the registered manager. We were given an example where a staff member whistleblew in relation to a concern they had. This was fully investigated by the registered manager.

The registered manager understood the need to ensure inclusion and diversity within their staff team, although they said that, without discriminating, they sought specific carers to fill certain roles.

Staff undertook equality and diversity training as part of their learning when starting in the role.

The registered manager told us, “We want to recruit a team leader and a new registered manager, so I can focus on governance and compliance. We want to be compliant.” Staff told us the registered manager was always checking they were following good practices by, “Carrying out spot checks when I am providing care without me knowing they are coming.”

The registered manager carried out audits of the service they provided to identify areas for improvement. For example, they had identified not all staff were using the care planning app to record daily notes properly. Emails were sent to staff reminding them the importance of this. Also, some staff had not undertaken their equality and diversity training and additional dates were being planned to ensure 100% compliance.

We did not receive any feedback from people about this quality statement for this assessment.

The registered manager said at present they worked with Kent local authority and although they had made contact with other providers and charities they had not worked with them as they were waiting for their agency to be rated by CQC. This would enable them to take on more care packages.

We did not receive any feedback from partners about this quality statement for this assessment.

There was a system in place to enable the registered manager to make referrals to appropriate external agencies or professionals.

The registered manager told us, “You have to share accidents. Everyone makes mistakes. It enables you to learn and to improve. We will hold additional training for staff if needed and introduce new systems if necessary.”

Senior manager held quality meetings where they reviewed audits and considered actions that needed to be taken to make improvements to the service. For example, they had identified a need to ‘investigate potential third-party accreditations that are relevant to our services. Develop a plan to pursue these accreditations as the client base grows’.