Athena Care Homes has offered to pay a partial refund of £1,400 to the family of a former resident after the Local Government & Social Care Ombudsman upheld their complaint of poor care.

The complainant, referred to as Mrs X, said her husband (Mr X), who suffered incontinence and has sadly subsequently passed away, was failed by the provider during his fortnight stay for respite care at Goodwins Hall from 3 October to 17 October 2022.

The Ombudsman found “some shortcomings” in the care and treatment of Mr X, particularly regarding his continence care where staff were unable to use the convene sheaths provided by his wife and failed to seek advice or order more when they ran out.

However, the Ombudsman found no evidence the home had failed to comply with its falls policy after he suffered an unwitnessed fall.

The Ombudsman also said there was no evidence the care home failed to help Mr X to eat, however, he found evidence that oral hygiene was not always undertaken properly.

A spokesperson for Athena Care Homes said: “We are sorry that on this occasion our resident’s experience fell short of our expectations. In light of this, we have reviewed our training for the areas highlighted in the Ombudsman decision and are confident that this has been fully addressed.”