A HOME care provider has been told by an inspector heard its staff were “brilliant, great, fantastic, almost part of the family” during a recent announced visit.

Apex Prime Care – Andover, with offices in East Street, has been rated as “good” overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

It was deemed “good” in all bar one of the areas when it was inspected in January.

The inspector found the provider’s people and their relatives felt safe, with the report stating: “One person said, ‘I feel safe, they are nice girls all of them.’ Another person told us, ‘I feel very safe with the carers and they know that they are doing’.

“A relative told us, ‘I have nothing but praise of the care; they [staff] are always lovely to mum.”

The inspector also found staff developed caring and positive relationships with the provider’s clients and that people were treated with respect, dignity and their privacy was respected.

Staff were also reported to have understood the importance of respecting a client’s right to having their own choice.

The service “requires improvement” in whether it was well-led with clients and their relatives, expressing mixed views in this area.

Many clients expressed issues with the provider’s office staff and one person even rated them “four or five out of ten”.

However other comments included the office staff as being supportive, helpful and efficient.

People also held mixed views on how satisfied they were with the registered manager’s response to their complaints.

Of the people who responded to the CQC’s questionnaire, 95 per cent indicated they felt staff responded well to any issue raised and they would recommend the service to others.

The CQC fed back people’s experiences to the registered manager.

In the report it stated: “[The registered manager] expressed their disappointment that people felt the office was not supportive, as their recent quality assurance survey had not identified any negative feedback or concerns.

“They told us ‘We have some challenging clients who are difficult to deal with.

“They have been with a number of other services before coming to us. We are their last chance’.”

The Advertiser contacted Apex Prime Care who declined to comment due to company policy.