Atman Care

Updated 17 July 2021

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 registered 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 Regus House is a domiciliary care service providing personal care for people living in their own homes.

There was no registered manager. The deputy manager had applied to CQC to become the registered manager. A registered manager and the registered 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 to check if the service had active cases of COVID 19.

What we did before inspection We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the registered provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information registered 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 this information to plan our inspection.

We also spoke by telephone with two members of support staff.

During the inspection We visited one of the two addresses at which the people using the service lived. We spoke with the person living there and by telephone with the person living at the other address. We spoke with a member of support staff, the deputy manager and a nurse consultant employed by the registered provider. We also spoke with the registered provider.

We reviewed the support plans for both people using the service. We also looked at records relating to the management of medicines, health and safety records, the management of accidents, staff training, complaints and key policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the registered provider to validate evidence found. This included information sent to us by the registered provider including the policy and procedure relating to safeguarding people from abuse. We also spoke by telephone with a relative and two further support staff.

Updated 17 July 2021

About the service

Regus House (also known as Atman Care) is a domiciliary care service providing personal care for adults of all ages in their own homes. It can support people who live with dementia, people with learning difficulties and people who have physical adaptive needs. It can also support people who need help to maintain their mental health.

At this inspection there were two people using the service living at different addresses in the Dartford and Greenhithe area. Both people needed complex care and support to maintain their mental health. One person needed 24 hours' two to one live-in support from a dedicated team of staff and the other person had twice-weekly support calls.

The service was run by a company whose managing director was a consultant forensic psychiatrist. In this inspection report we refer to the managing director as being, ‘the registered provider’.

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

A person using the service said, “Good, good here and I manage because the staff help me a lot.”

There were arrangements to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Support focused on promoting people’s independence offering as many opportunities as possible to benefit from gaining new skills and experiences while avoiding unnecessary risks to their health and safety.

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.

Sufficient staff were deployed and new staff were safely recruited. Staff had received guidance and training, supported people to have a balanced diet and ensured the person only received care respecting their legal rights.

People were supported to say what support they wanted to receive. They were helped to safely engage in social activities meaningful to them including accessing the local community.

There was a procedure for investigating and resolving complaints. When necessary, end of life care could be provided.

Quality checks ensured people received the support they needed. There was an open culture and staff were supported to work as a team. The registered provider understood the duty of candour requiring the service to be open and honest when things go wrong. The service worked in close partnership with other agencies including local mental health care managers (social workers) and commissioners.

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

Rating at the last inspection

The service was registered with us on 21 December 2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the length of time service is registered with us.

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.